Jammu & Kashmir High Court ruled that a mother-in-law not party to a domestic violence case cannot file an appeal. Court said only “aggrieved persons” directly affected can challenge trial orders.
Srinagar: The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court recently gave an important ruling in a case involving the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (DV Act). The High Court clearly stated that a mother-in-law, who was not a part of the original case in the trial court and is not directly affected by the trial court’s order, cannot appeal under the DV Act.
Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul dismissed a petition filed by a mother-in-law. She had approached the High Court to challenge the decision of the Sessions Court, which had refused to give her permission to file an appeal against an order passed by a Magistrate in a domestic violence complaint filed by her daughter-in-law.
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The Court observed,
“Admittedly, petitioner does not fall within the definition of aggrieved person, therefore, is not entitled to file appeal as she is neither the party before the Trial Court nor has order been passed against her.”
This means that since the mother-in-law was not involved in the case before the Magistrate and no order was passed against her, she does not have the legal right to appeal.
Earlier, the Sessions Court had dismissed her appeal request on the grounds that she was not an “aggrieved person” under Section 20(a) of the DV Act.
In response, the mother-in-law had moved to the High Court, arguing that since she is the mother-in-law of the woman who filed the domestic violence complaint, she should be allowed to file an appeal under Section 29 of the DV Act.
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She claimed that she falls under the definition of “aggrieved person.”
However, the High Court did not accept this argument. The judge explained that the right to file an appeal under Section 29 of the DV Act is strictly for those individuals who are considered “aggrieved persons” under the law and who are directly impacted by the trial court’s decision.
As the mother-in-law did not meet these conditions, her petition was dismissed.
The Court, however, gave her another option. It allowed her to approach the trial court again by filing a fresh application to be added as a party in the case.
This means if she wants to be part of the legal proceedings, she must first get herself formally added as a party before trying to appeal.
The High Court stated,
“Admittedly, petitioner does not fall within the definition of aggrieved person, therefore, is not entitled to file appeal as she is neither the party before the Trial Court nor has order been passed against her.”
Advocates SN Ratanpuri and Fiza Khursheed appeared on behalf of the mother-in-law and represented her case in court.
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