How people usually put it
My husband left me with two children and pays nothing. I was thrown out of my own house. My in-laws say the house is not mine. He married again. Bharthavu ozhivakki, paisa onnum tharunnilla. Veetil ninnu irakki vittu. ഭർത്താവ് ചെലവിന് തരുന്നില്ല. വീട്ടിൽ നിന്ന് ഇറക്കിവിട്ടു.
A wife can live in the shared household, even if she does not own it
Satish Chander Ahuja v. Sneha Ahuja (2021) 1 SCC 414 holds that a "shared household" under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 includes a house belonging to the husband's relatives where the woman lived in a domestic relationship. It overruled the narrow reading in S.R. Batra v. Taruna Batra. A woman cannot simply be evicted because the title stands in her mother-in-law's or father-in-law's name; a residence order can protect her occupation.
Maintenance: when it starts and how it is fixed
Rajnesh v. Neha (2021) 2 SCC 324 laid down rules that apply across every maintenance law:
- Maintenance is ordinarily payable from the date the application is filed, not from the date of the order.
- Both sides must file an affidavit of assets and liabilities; the format is prescribed in the judgment.
- Overlapping claims under different Acts must be disclosed, and amounts already paid are adjusted.
- Enforcement is by the ordinary modes for a money decree, and arrears can be recovered.
Maintenance for a wife, children and parents is claimed under BNSS section 144 (formerly CrPC section 125), and additionally under the Domestic Violence Act, the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act or the personal law that applies.
A woman's share in the family property
Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020) 9 SCC 1 holds that a daughter is a coparcener by birth in a Hindu joint family, with the same rights as a son, and that this does not depend on the father being alive on 9 September 2005. Daughters married before that date are included.
Cruelty cases and the caution the courts require
Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014) 8 SCC 273 restrains automatic arrest of the husband and his relatives in cruelty cases, requiring recorded reasons. Courts have repeatedly warned against implicating every family member without specific allegations. This protects a genuine complaint too: a well-drafted complaint that names who did what, with dates, survives scrutiny far better.
Live-in relationships
Where a couple has lived together as husband and wife for a significant period, the courts have held the relationship to be "in the nature of marriage" for the Domestic Violence Act, giving the woman protection and residence rights, though the tests set out in Indra Sarma v. V.K.V. Sarma (2013) 15 SCC 755 must be met.
How to use this
A woman seeking protection, residence, maintenance or custody files before the Magistrate having jurisdiction, often with the help of the Protection Officer or a service provider; there is no court fee for a Domestic Violence Act application. Free legal aid is available at the District Legal Services Authority, and women can also approach the Kerala State Women's Commission. Keep copies of what was filed, with dates.
This guide is legal information, not legal advice, and reading it creates no advocate–client relationship. Laws change and every case turns on its own facts. For anything serious, consult an advocate — and if you cannot afford one, the District Legal Services Authority will give you a lawyer free of cost.
Ask about your own situation
Niyamam AI answers questions like this in Hindi, Malayalam or English. Describe what happened in your own words and it explains the law, the steps and the deadlines that apply to you.