High Court of Punjab and Haryana

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that a court can exercise its inherent powers under Section 482 CrPC in relation to proceedings under the Domestic Violence (DV) Act.

Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Pankaj Jain said: “The scheme of the Act, 2005 (Domestic Violence Act) provides that all proceedings under Section 12 of the Act, 2005 shall be governed by the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and therefore it cannot be held that Section 482 Cr.PC will not apply to proceedings which arising from complaints made under the 2005 Act.”

The development came after a single judge referred the matter to a division bench seeking clarification due to conflicting interpretations on the applicability of the High Court’s jurisdiction under Section 482 of the CrPC to proceedings arising out of the DR Act.

The court mainly considered issues “Since section 28(1) provides that all proceedings under sections 12, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 and offenses under section 31 shall be governed by the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, can it be held that the application section 482 Cr.PC deleted?”

Having analyzed the provisions, the court noted “It is too broad a proposition to hold that merely because a complaint under Section 12 of the Relief Act, 2005 as contemplated in Section IV relates to civil rights, the applicability of Section 482 Cr.PC is superseded.”

The court added: “If we stretch the matter further, the natural consequence would be to hold that the inherent powers of the High Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 can be invoked and will govern a complaint under section 12 of the Act of 2005 as it relates to civil rights The recognition thus contravenes the powers of section 28(1) of the 2005 Act.

The Court also noted that there is no provision in the DV Act which would exclude the Court’s jurisdiction under Section 482 of the CrPC.

Speaking for the bench, Justice Pankaj Jain concluded that “Section 482 Cr.PC/528 BNSS applies as a proceeding arising on a complaint under section 12 of the 2005 Act. The only exception is where the provisions of the 2005 Act apply in proceedings before the civil or family courts. .”

Title: Hemant Bhagar and Ors v. Prekshi Sood Bhagat (together with related matter)

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