Wednesday, May 27, 2009

HC: Interim order passed under DV Act is revisable and any final order is Appealable

Punjab-Haryana High Court 1

IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT
CHANDIGARH

Crl. Misc. No.31518-M of 2008.
Date of Decision: 3.12.2008.
***
Balwinder Kaur & Anr.
.. Petitioners
Vs.

Mahan Singh & Ors.
.. Respondents.

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ARVIND KUMAR,

Present:- Mr. Arun Takhi, Advocate
for the petitioner.
***

ARVIND KUMAR, J.

Through the instant- petition, the petitioner has sought
quashing of orders dated 3.10.2007 and 20.9.2008 passed by learned Sub
Divisional Magistrate Nawanshahr and learned Additional District and
Sessions Judge, Nawanshahr.
It emerges out from the paper book that the petitioners, who are
wife and son respectively of respondent No.1 Mahan Singh filed a
complaint with the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nawanshahr under the
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (for short, the Act)
against Mahan Singh and other in-laws. Along with the said complaint, they
also filed an application under Section 12 of the Act and sought interim
reliefs as provided under Sections 18 to 22 read with Section 23 of the Act.
After the contest, the application for interim reliefs was declined by the trial
court vide order dated 3.10.2007 and against that order, the petitioners
preferred a Crl. Misc. No. 51178-M of 2007 seeing quashing of the said
order, however, that petition was withdrawn with a liberty to avail
appropriate remedy under the law. Thereafter, the petitioners preferred a
revision before the Court of learned Sessions Judge, but the learned
Additional District and Sessions Judge, vide impugned order dated
20.9.2008 holding that the only relief available to the petitioners is to file an
appeal against the said order and that too within a period of thirty days and
hence doubting the maintainability of the revision, dismissed the same,
2

without touching the merits of the case
Learned counsel for the petitioners has contended that the
learned revisional court has fallen into error of law by misinterpreting the
provisions of the Act and that Sections 12, 18 to 23 of the Act are governed
by the provisions of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and as such the
revision was very much maintainable and Section 29 of the Act attracts only
when there is final order passed by the Magistrate and an appeal would lie
for the same..
There is force in the contention of learned counsel for the
petitioners. A conjoint reading of Section 12 of the Act and Rule 6(5) of
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Rules, 2006 (for brevity,
the Rules) leaves no manner of doubt that the order passed on an application
for interim relief is very much revisable before the Court of Session and as a
consequence thereof, obviously, with the limitation as stipulated in the Code
of Criminal Procedure for the purpose.
At this stage, learned counsel has contended that if the order
passed by the revisional Court is set aside, he shall put up his case in respect
of legality and propriety of order dated 3.10.2007 passed by the Magistrate,
before that forum, on merits.
In view of this, the impugned order dated 20.9.2008 passed by
the Revisional Court is set aside and the matter is remitted back to it with a
direction to admit the revision of the petitioners and disposed it of
expeditiously, after hearing the parties on merit, that too without insisting
on the point of limitation.
The instant petition is disposed of without issuing any notice to
the opposite party, since in the considered opinion of this Court they have to
unnecessarily bear heavy expenses to contest this litigation. However,
liberty is given to the respondents to file an application for recalling of this
order, if they are dis-satisfied with the same.


(ARVIND KUMAR)
JUDGE
December 3,2008
Jiten

Documents ref:
The Protection Of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005
Section 12 in The Protection Of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005
Section 18 in The Protection Of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005
The Indian Penal Code, 1860
Section 29 in The Indian Penal Code, 1860

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