Thane: The Thane Additional Sessions Judge A. S. Bhagwat has rejected an appeal filed by a 33-year-old woman who alleged domestic violence against her estranged husband and in-laws. The court dismissed the appeal on the grounds of excessive delay in filing the case, citing legal precedents set by the Supreme Court and Bombay High Court.
The woman had filed the case in 2017, alleging that she was subjected to domestic violence by her husband, his mother, and his sister during her stay at her matrimonial home following her 2014 marriage. However, the court noted that the alleged incidents occurred before August 2015, while the case was filed over two and a half years later.
Citing legal precedents, the court emphasized that as per the judgment in the case of Sejal (Supra), a domestic violence complaint must be filed within one year of the alleged incidents. Since the woman filed her complaint more than two years after the alleged abuse, the court ruled it as non-maintainable.
The Court in its orders observed, that a delay of more than one year in filing a domestic violence case renders the complaint inadmissible, in line with the Supreme Court and Bombay High Court rulings.
“The orders passed in the “Sejal (Supra)” case, which states that any gap exceeding one year between alleged abuse and filing of a Domestic Violence (D.V.) Application under Section 12 makes the complaint invalid. Also no contradictory ruling is made from the Supreme Court or Bombay High Court that would allow for a delayed filing, “the court observed.
Thus while rejecting the appeal application, the court held, that no fault can be found in the application of case law and passing of impugned order by the learned Trial Court. “In such circumstances, the woman fails to prove that the learned Trial Court erred in passing the impugned order and appellant also fails to prove that the impugned order is liable to be quashed and set aside,” the court held.
