Supreme Court pulls up Delhi court for issuing bailable warrant in domestic violence case

Frowning upon the issuance of warrants in cases under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, the Supreme Court pulled up a Delhi court for issuing a bailable warrant against a woman.

“This court is constrained to observe that there is no justification whatsoever for the trial court to have issued bailable warrants in an application filed under the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act. The proceedings under the Act are quasi criminal proceedings which do not have any penal consequence except where there is a violation or breach of a protection order. Therefore, the learned magistrate was absolutely unjustified in directing issuance of bailable warrants against the petitioner (daughter-in-law),” Justice Sandeep Mehta said.

After hearing submissions of the petitioner’s counsel, going through the material on record and considering the fact that the proceedings of the divorce petition filed by the petitioner’s husband had already been transferred by it from Family Court, West, Tis Hazari, New Delhi to Family Court, Ludhiana District Court, Punjab on August 14, 2024, the top court allowed her plea for transfer of this case as well.

The order came after the petitioner’s counsel submitted that she has a specially-abled minor son who was suffering from hearing impairment and that she was unemployed and is fully dependent on her father for survival. The magistrate court has issued bailable warrants against her, the petitioner’s counsel told the top court.

Allowing her transfer plea, the top court said, “If video conferencing facility is available with the transferee court (Ludhiana), the benefit of the same shall be extended to the parties.”