A woman walks into a lawyer’s office after months of abuse and asks the obvious question: how do I file a domestic violence case? The honest answer is that there isn’t one case to file. There are two doors, and most people walk through the wrong one first.
Behind the first door is a civil application under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDVA), where the goal is protection, a roof over her head, and money to survive on. Behind the second is a criminal complaint for cruelty, once Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code and now Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, where the goal is to see the husband and his family prosecuted. They run on different fuel, in different courts, with different consequences. You can use one, the other, or both at once.
The choice matters more in 2026 than it used to. In December 2024, the Supreme Court quashed a cruelty FIR that named a husband, his parents, and three sisters-in-law in one sweep, and warned that naming relatives without specific allegations is an abuse the courts will “nip in the bud” (Dara Lakshmi Narayana v. State of Telangana, 2024 INSC 953). A criminal case filed carelessly now gets thrown out faster. A civil DV application, filed properly, often does the heavier lifting anyway.
To file a domestic violence case under the PWDVA, the aggrieved woman files an application under Section 12 before the Judicial Magistrate, usually with help from a Protection Officer who prepares a Domestic Incident Report. The Magistrate must fix the first hearing within three days and endeavour to dispose of the case within sixty days. Through that single application she can seek a protection order, a residence order, monetary relief, custody, and compensation. This is a civil remedy and is separate from a criminal cruelty complaint under Section 85 of the BNS (the old Section 498A IPC).
This guide walks through who can file, what counts as domestic violence, the exact Section 12 procedure, every relief available, what happens after filing, and how the civil PWDVA route compares with the criminal Section 85 BNS route.
Two laws, two doors: the civil DV case versus the criminal cruelty case
Before any form is filled, you have to know which law you are actually invoking, because the PWDVA and Section 85 BNS are built for different outcomes.
The PWDVA is, at its core, a civil law. It does not send anyone to jail for committing domestic violence. Instead, it gives a woman fast, protective remedies: an order stopping the abuse, the right to stay in her home, money for her and her children, and compensation. No first information report is needed, and no police investigation begins. She applies directly to a Magistrate.
Section 85 of the BNS is criminal law. It punishes a husband or his relative who subjects a woman to cruelty with imprisonment of up to three years and a fine. This route runs through an FIR, a police investigation, possible arrest, and a criminal trial where guilt must be proved beyond reasonable doubt.
The two are not mutually exclusive. A woman can file a Section 12 DV application and lodge a Section 85 cruelty complaint at the same time, because they serve different ends, one protective and one punitive. Knowing which door solves which problem is the first real decision in any domestic violence matter, and the rest of this guide is mostly about the civil door, which is where most relief actually comes from. For the wider framework of the statute, our overview of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 sets out the architecture this guide puts into practice.
Who can file a domestic violence case, and against whom
Here is the first thing that surprises people: under the PWDVA, only a woman can be the “aggrieved person.” Section 2(a) defines her as any woman who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the respondent and alleges domestic violence. A man cannot bring a case under this Act, though he can defend one.
A “domestic relationship” under Section 2(f) is broader than marriage. It covers women related by marriage, by blood (mothers, sisters, daughters), by adoption, and crucially, women in a “relationship in the nature of marriage”, that is, live-in partners. The Supreme Court has confirmed that a woman in a genuine live-in relationship can claim protection and maintenance under the Act, applying the tests it laid down in D. Velusamy v. D. Patchaiammal, (2010) 10 SCC 469.
The question of who can be the respondent was settled in Hiral P. Harsora v. Kusum Narottamdas Harsora, (2016) 10 SCC 165. The original Section 2(q) allowed a case only against an “adult male” person. The Supreme Court struck down the words “adult male” as unconstitutional, holding they discriminated between similarly placed people. The result: a woman can today file against female relatives of her husband or partner, such as a mother-in-law or sister-in-law, and against persons who are not adult males. The respondent simply has to be someone she shares, or shared, a domestic relationship with.
One more point that trips up litigants. Under Prabha Tyagi v. Kamlesh Devi, (2022) SCC OnLine SC 607, the domestic relationship does not have to be subsisting on the date the application is filed. A woman who has already left the shared household, or whose husband has died, can still maintain a DV case for violence suffered during the relationship.
What counts as domestic violence under Section 3
People assume domestic violence means physical assault. The statutory definition is far wider, and getting this right is what makes an application stick. Section 3 of the PWDVA recognises four kinds of abuse.
Physical abuse is the obvious one: assault, hurt, or any act that causes bodily pain or danger to life or health. Sexual abuse covers any sexual conduct that abuses, humiliates, or degrades the woman or otherwise violates her dignity. Verbal and emotional abuse includes insults, ridicule, name-calling, and threats, repeated taunts about not bearing a child or not bringing enough dowry being common examples. Economic abuse is the one most often missed: denying a woman money she is entitled to, taking her stridhan or salary, throwing her out of the house, or cutting off access to shared resources.
Section 3 also expressly treats harassment to coerce a dowry demand as domestic violence. That overlap matters, because the same facts can support both a civil DV case and a criminal cruelty case. A woman does not have to show grievous injury; a sustained pattern of economic or emotional abuse is enough to bring her within the Act.
How to file: the Section 12 application, step by step
This is the procedural heart of the matter. Filing a DV case is not as forbidding as it sounds, because the Act is designed to be accessible, but each step has a purpose.
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Approach a Protection Officer, police, or service provider. Under Section 4, anyone who has reason to believe domestic violence has occurred can inform the Protection Officer. Every district has Protection Officers appointed under Section 8, whose job under Section 9 is to assist the woman, not to judge her. A registered service provider (an NGO recognised under Section 10) can do the same.
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Get the Domestic Incident Report prepared. The Protection Officer or service provider records the complaint in a Domestic Incident Report (DIR), a prescribed form that captures the incidents, the reliefs sought, and the parties involved. The DIR is then forwarded to the Magistrate. Important caveat, settled in Prabha Tyagi: a DIR is not a mandatory pre-condition. A Magistrate can pass orders even where no DIR exists, so a woman is not stranded if a Protection Officer is slow or unavailable.
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File the application under Section 12. The actual case is an application to the Magistrate under Section 12. It can be filed by the aggrieved woman herself, by a Protection Officer, or by any other person on her behalf. The application sets out the domestic violence alleged and the specific reliefs claimed under Sections 18 to 22.
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File it in the right court. Section 27 fixes jurisdiction. The application goes to the Judicial Magistrate of the first class or Metropolitan Magistrate within whose local limits the aggrieved person resides or works, or the respondent resides or works, or the cause of action arose. This is deliberately generous: a woman who has fled to her parents’ city can file there.
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Mind the timeline. Section 12(4) requires the Magistrate to fix the first date of hearing ordinarily within three days of receiving the application. Section 13 then requires notice of that date to be served on the respondent, through the Protection Officer, within two days or such further reasonable time as the Magistrate allows. Section 12(5) directs the Magistrate to endeavour to dispose of the application within sixty days of the first hearing.
There is no heavy court-fee barrier to clear; the PWDVA was built so a woman without means can access it, often with the Protection Officer and free legal aid doing the paperwork. What you attach, evidence of the relationship, medical records, photographs, message screenshots, financial documents, matters far more than the filing fee.
The reliefs you can actually ask for: Sections 18 to 22
A DV application is only as good as the reliefs it claims. The PWDVA gives the Magistrate a powerful, layered set of orders, and a well-drafted Section 12 application asks for several at once.
Protection order (Section 18). This is the core shield. The Magistrate can prohibit the respondent from committing any further act of domestic violence, from entering the woman’s workplace or school, from contacting her, and from operating shared bank accounts or assets without permission. Breaching it has teeth, as explained below.
Residence order (Section 19). This protects the roof over her head. The Magistrate can restrain the respondent from dispossessing the woman from the shared household, direct him to remove himself from it, bar him from entering the portion she occupies, or, where required, direct him to provide alternate accommodation or pay rent for it. A woman cannot be thrown out of her shared household simply because she does not own it.
Monetary relief (Section 20). The Magistrate can order the respondent to meet expenses and losses caused by the violence: medical costs, loss of earnings, maintenance for the woman and her children (which can run alongside or independent of a Section 125 BNSS maintenance claim), and the value of property taken from her. The relief must be adequate, fair, and consistent with the standard of living she is used to.
Custody order (Section 21). The Magistrate can grant temporary custody of any child to the aggrieved woman, and regulate or refuse the respondent’s visitation where it would harm the child.
Compensation order (Section 22). Separately from maintenance, the Magistrate can direct the respondent to pay compensation and damages for the injuries caused, including mental torture and emotional distress.
The practical strategy is to claim the reliefs that match the facts, not a scattergun list. A woman facing eviction leads with Section 19; one cut off from money leads with Section 20; most lead with a Section 18 protection order alongside whatever else applies. For a fuller account of each entitlement, see our guide to the rights of an aggrieved person under the PWDVA.
Interim and ex-parte orders: relief before the case ends
Sixty days is fast for a court, but it is a long time for a woman in danger. This is why Section 23 exists. It empowers the Magistrate to pass interim orders at any stage of the proceeding, and, where the respondent’s conduct shows domestic violence is likely, to pass ex-parte orders based on the woman’s affidavit alone, before the respondent is even heard.
In plain terms, a woman can walk out of the first or second hearing with an interim protection order or residence order already in force. That immediacy is the single biggest practical advantage of the civil DV route over a criminal case, which moves at the pace of investigation and trial. The interim order holds the line while the full application is decided.
The shared household right: why she cannot simply be evicted
One battle dominates DV litigation more than any other: where the woman gets to live. Section 17 gives every woman in a domestic relationship the right to reside in the shared household, whether or not she has any ownership or legal interest in it.
For years this right was read narrowly. In S.R. Batra v. Taruna Batra, (2007) 3 SCC 169, the Supreme Court held that a “shared household” meant only a house owned or rented by the husband, not one belonging to his parents. That reading left many daughters-in-law exposed. It was overruled in Satish Chander Ahuja v. Sneha Ahuja, (2021) 1 SCC 414, where the Court held that a shared household can include a property owned by the in-laws, as long as the woman lived there in a domestic relationship. The right to reside is now substantive, not contingent on whose name is on the title deed.
Prabha Tyagi pushed it further still, holding that a woman can enforce her right to reside in a shared household even if she never actually lived there, where the relationship and the entitlement exist. Together these rulings make the residence right the strongest card in many DV applications, and the reason a Section 19 order is so often the relief that changes a woman’s life fastest.
What happens after you file: hearing, orders, breach, and appeal
So the application is in. What does the road ahead look like?
After the Section 12 application is filed, the Magistrate fixes the first hearing and notice goes to the respondent. The respondent files a reply, the woman may seek interim relief under Section 23, and the Magistrate hears both sides before passing final orders on the reliefs claimed. Because Section 28 directs that proceedings be governed by the procedure for criminal courts (the CrPC, now the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023), the Magistrate also has flexibility to lay down his own procedure to do justice.
The orders are not toothless. Under Section 31, if the respondent breaches a protection order or an interim protection order, that breach is itself a criminal offence, punishable with imprisonment of up to one year, or a fine of up to ₹20,000, or both. And by Section 32, the breach is a cognizable and non-bailable offence, so the police can act on it directly. This is the bridge between the civil and criminal worlds: the DV case is civil, but defying its orders turns criminal.
Either party who is unhappy with the Magistrate’s order can appeal. Section 29 gives a right of appeal to the Court of Session within thirty days from the date the order is served on the aggrieved party or the respondent, whichever is later. Missing that window is one of the most common, and most avoidable, mistakes in DV litigation.
PWDVA versus Section 498A / BNS Section 85: the comparison that decides strategy
This is the question that brings most readers here. If a woman can file a civil DV case and a criminal cruelty case, how do they actually differ, and when do you use which?
Section 498A IPC was repealed on 1 July 2024 and re-enacted, almost word for word, as Section 85 of the BNS (the offence and punishment) read with Section 86 (which defines cruelty). Section 86 carries forward the same two-limb test: wilful conduct likely to drive the woman to suicide or grave injury, and harassment to coerce an unlawful demand for property or dowry. The punishment is unchanged at up to three years and a fine, and the offence remains cognizable and non-bailable. Cases registered before 1 July 2024 continue under Section 498A; new ones are filed under Section 85.
The table below maps the two routes onto each other.
| Feature | DV case (PWDVA, Section 12) | Cruelty case (BNS Section 85, old 498A) |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of law | Civil and protective | Criminal and punitive |
| Who can be the aggrieved party | Any woman in a domestic relationship, including a live-in partner | A married woman (wife) |
| Who can be the respondent | Husband, partner, and his relatives (male or female, after Hiral Harsora) | Husband or relative of the husband |
| How it starts | Application to the Magistrate; no FIR | FIR and police investigation |
| Main outcome sought | Protection, residence, money, custody, compensation | Conviction and punishment (up to 3 years and fine) |
| Arrest of the respondent | No arrest in the DV proceeding itself | Arrest possible (cognizable), subject to safeguards |
| Bail | Not applicable (civil) | Non-bailable; bail at the court’s discretion |
| Standard of proof | Civil standard (preponderance of probabilities) | Criminal standard (beyond reasonable doubt) |
| Speed of relief | Interim and ex-parte orders within days (Section 23) | Moves at the pace of investigation and trial |
| Can both run together? | Yes. Section 26 lets DV reliefs be sought in other proceedings too | Yes, alongside a DV application |
Read practically, the two laws answer two different needs. The DV case answers “I need to be safe, housed, and supported, now.” The criminal case answers “I want the cruelty prosecuted and punished.” Many women legitimately need both. But the civil route is usually where fast, tangible relief comes from, while the criminal route is heavier, slower, and, as the next section shows, increasingly scrutinised for misuse.
The misuse caution: why the criminal route needs care in 2026
The criminal cruelty provision has always carried a warning label, and in 2026 that label is louder than ever. Because Section 85 BNS is cognizable and non-bailable, an FIR can pull a whole family into the criminal process at once, and the courts have grown wary of exactly that.
In Dara Lakshmi Narayana, decided on 10 December 2024, the Supreme Court quashed an FIR that named a husband, his parents, and three sisters-in-law on vague, “omnibus” allegations with no specific instance of cruelty against any of them. The Court repeated a now-settled rule: a mere reference to the names of family members, without concrete allegations of their active involvement, deserves to be nipped in the bud. It also noted the FIR had been filed as a counterblast to the husband’s divorce notice.
This does not weaken a genuine case. It sharpens it. A cruelty complaint that pleads specific incidents, dates, and conduct against each named person survives scrutiny; one that simply lists the entire family does not. The procedural safeguards from Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar, (2014) 8 SCC 273, still apply: for an offence punishable with up to seven years, the police must justify an arrest and follow the notice procedure now contained in Section 35 of the BNSS rather than arresting automatically. For anyone weighing the criminal route, the lesson is precision, not volume.
IPC to BNS: the criminal provisions a DV matter touches
If you trained on the old Code, here is the quick map for the criminal side of a domestic violence matter, since the section numbers have all changed from 1 July 2024.
| Offence | IPC (old) | BNS (new) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cruelty by husband or his relatives | 498A | 85 (punishment) and 86 (definition) | Same text, same 3-year maximum |
| Dowry death | 304B | 80 | Carried over |
| Husband enticing a married woman | 498 | 84 | Carried over |
The PWDVA itself was not renumbered; it stands as a separate civil statute alongside the BNS. What changed is the criminal companion provisions a DV matter often invokes, and the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, continues to operate unchanged. For a deeper look at how the new code reshuffled the cruelty offence, our explainer on the Supreme Court’s stand on the misuse of cruelty provisions is worth reading alongside this guide.
Frequently asked questions
1. How do I file a domestic violence case in India?
File an application under Section 12 of the PWDVA before the Judicial Magistrate, usually with help from a Protection Officer who prepares a Domestic Incident Report. The application sets out the violence and the reliefs claimed. The Magistrate fixes the first hearing within three days and aims to decide the case within sixty days.
2. Is a domestic violence case civil or criminal?
A case under the PWDVA is civil and protective. It gives orders for protection, residence, money, custody, and compensation, not a jail sentence. It becomes criminal only if the respondent breaches a protection order under Section 31, or if a separate cruelty complaint is filed under Section 85 BNS.
3. Can a man file a domestic violence case under the PWDVA?
No. Under Section 2(a), only a woman can be the “aggrieved person” under the PWDVA. A man cannot file under this Act, though he can be a respondent and defend the case. A man facing cruelty has to look to other remedies, not the PWDVA.
4. Who can be made a respondent in a DV case?
After Hiral P. Harsora v. Kusum Narottamdas Harsora, a woman can file against her husband or partner and his relatives, whether male or female, including a mother-in-law or sister-in-law. The original limitation to an “adult male” respondent was struck down as unconstitutional.
5. Do I need to file an FIR to start a domestic violence case?
No. A PWDVA case starts with a Section 12 application to the Magistrate, not an FIR. An FIR is needed only for the separate criminal route under Section 85 BNS (the old Section 498A IPC).
6. What reliefs can I get in a domestic violence case?
A Magistrate can pass a protection order (Section 18), a residence order (Section 19), monetary relief and maintenance (Section 20), a custody order (Section 21), and a compensation order (Section 22). Interim and ex-parte versions of these can be granted quickly under Section 23.
7. How long does a domestic violence case take?
Section 12(5) directs the Magistrate to endeavour to dispose of the application within sixty days of the first hearing, and the first hearing must ordinarily be fixed within three days of filing. In practice, timelines vary, but interim protection can be obtained within days under Section 23.
8. Is there a court fee to file a domestic violence case?
The PWDVA was designed to be accessible, and there is no heavy court-fee barrier. Protection Officers and free legal aid can assist with filing, so a woman without means is not shut out. The strength of the case turns on evidence, not the fee.
9. Can I claim the right to live in my husband’s family home?
Yes. Section 17 gives a woman the right to reside in the shared household regardless of ownership. After Satish Chander Ahuja v. Sneha Ahuja, a shared household can include a home owned by the in-laws where she lived in a domestic relationship, and she cannot simply be evicted.
10. What happens if the respondent breaks a protection order?
Breaching a protection order is a criminal offence under Section 31, punishable with up to one year in prison, a fine of up to ₹20,000, or both. Under Section 32 it is cognizable and non-bailable, so the police can act on the breach directly.
11. What is the difference between a DV case and a Section 498A / Section 85 BNS case?
A DV case under the PWDVA is civil and aims at protection and relief. A Section 85 BNS case (formerly Section 498A IPC) is criminal and aims at punishing cruelty with up to three years in prison and a fine. The DV case starts with an application; the cruelty case starts with an FIR. Both can be filed together.
12. Is Section 498A still valid, or has it been replaced?
Section 498A IPC was repealed on 1 July 2024 and re-enacted as Section 85 of the BNS, read with Section 86, which defines cruelty. The wording and the three-year maximum punishment are essentially unchanged. Cases filed before 1 July 2024 continue under Section 498A.
13. Can I file a DV case and a criminal cruelty case at the same time?
Yes. The two are separate remedies serving different purposes, and Section 26 of the PWDVA allows DV reliefs to be claimed even within other legal proceedings. Many women pursue both, the civil case for fast protection and support, the criminal case for prosecution.
14. Can a woman in a live-in relationship file a domestic violence case?
Yes. A “domestic relationship” under Section 2(f) includes a relationship in the nature of marriage. A woman in a genuine live-in relationship can seek protection and maintenance, applying the tests the Supreme Court set out in D. Velusamy v. D. Patchaiammal.
15. Can I file a DV case after I have already left the house or divorced?
Yes. In Prabha Tyagi v. Kamlesh Devi, the Supreme Court held that the domestic relationship need not be subsisting on the date the application is filed. A woman can pursue a DV case for violence suffered during the relationship even after she has left or the marriage has ended.
16. Where do I file my domestic violence case?
Under Section 27, you file before the Magistrate where you reside or work, where the respondent resides or works, or where the cause of action arose. This means a woman who has moved to another city can usually file there rather than returning to where the abuse happened.
References
Case Law
- Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar, (2014) 8 SCC 273 – arrest safeguards for offences punishable up to seven years, including cruelty.
- Dara Lakshmi Narayana v. State of Telangana, 2024 INSC 953 – caution against omnibus 498A/Section 85 allegations against relatives; FIR quashed.
- D. Velusamy v. D. Patchaiammal, (2010) 10 SCC 469 – tests for a “relationship in the nature of marriage” under the PWDVA.
- Hiral P. Harsora v. Kusum Narottamdas Harsora, (2016) 10 SCC 165 – struck down “adult male” in Section 2(q); respondent can be a female relative.
- Prabha Tyagi v. Kamlesh Devi, (2022) SCC OnLine SC 607 – right to reside without actual residence; domestic relationship need not subsist at filing; DIR not mandatory.
- Satish Chander Ahuja v. Sneha Ahuja, (2021) 1 SCC 414 – expanded “shared household”; overruled S.R. Batra v. Taruna Batra.
- S.R. Batra v. Taruna Batra, (2007) 3 SCC 169 – narrow “shared household” reading, now overruled.
Statutes
- Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 – sections cited: 2(a), 2(f), 2(q), 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32.
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 – sections cited: 80, 84, 85, 86.
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 – sections cited: 35, 125.
- Indian Penal Code, 1860 – Section 498A (repealed 1 July 2024).
- Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 – continues in force.
Legal disclaimer
This article is published for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice, and no lawyer-client relationship is created by reading it. The law and its judicial interpretation change over time. For advice on a specific domestic violence matter, consult a qualified advocate or approach your district Protection Officer or a recognised service provider.
