Section 3 of Domestic Violence Act "Definition of domestic violence"
For the purposes of this Act, any act, omission or
commission or conduct of the respondent shall constitute
domestic violence in case it -
a. harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life,
limb or well‑being, whether mental or physical, of the
aggrieved person or tends to do so and includes causing
physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and
economic abuse; or
b. harasses, harms, injures
or endangers the aggrieved person with a view to coerce
her or any other person related to her to meet any
unlawful demand for any dowry or other property or
valuable security; or
c. has the effect of threatening the aggrieved person or
any person related to her by any conduct mentioned in
clause (a) or clause (b); or
d. otherwise injures or causes harm, whether physical or
mental, to the aggrieved person.
Explanation I.-For the purposes
of this section,-
i. "physical abuse" means any act or conduct which is of
such a nature as to cause bodily pain, harm, or danger to
life, limb, or health or impair the health or development of
the aggrieved person and includes assault, criminal
intimidation and criminal force;
ii. "sexual abuse" includes any conduct of a sexual nature
that abuses, humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the
dignity of woman;
iii. "verbal and emotional abuse" includes Explanation
I.-For the purposes of this section,-
i. "physical abuse" means any act or conduct which is of
such a nature as to cause bodily pain, harm, or danger to
life, limb, or health or impair the health or development of
the aggrieved person and includes assault, criminal
intimidation and criminal force;
ii. "sexual abuse" includes any conduct of a sexual nature
that abuses, humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the
dignity of woman;
iii. "verbal and emotional abuse" includes-
a. insults, ridicule, humiliation, name calling and insults
or ridicule specially with regard to not having a child or a
male child; and
b. repeated threats to cause physical pain to any person in
whom the aggrieved person is interested.
iv. "economic abuse" includes-
a. deprivation of all or any economic or financial resources
to which the aggrieved person is entitled under any law or
custom whether payable under an order of a court or
otherwise or which the aggrieved person requires out of
necessity including, but not limited to, household
necessities for the aggrieved person and her children, if
any, stridhan, property, jointly or separately owned by the
aggrieved person, payment of rental related to the shared
household and maintenance;
b. disposal of household effects, any alienation of assets
whether movable or immovable, valuables, shares, securities,
bonds and the like or other property in which the aggrieved
person has an interest or is entitled to use by virtue of
the domestic relationship or which may be reasonably
required by the aggrieved person or her children or her
stridhan or any other property jointly or separately held by
the aggrieved person; and
c. prohibition or restriction to continued access to
resources or facilities which the aggrieved person is
entitled to use or enjoy by virtue of the domestic
relationship including access to the shared household.
Explanation II.-For the purpose of determining whether any
act, omission, commission or conduct of the respondent
constitutes "domestic violence" under this section, the
overall facts and circumstances of the case shall be taken
into consideration.
a. insults, ridicule, humiliation, name calling and insults
or ridicule specially with regard to not having a child or a
male child; and
b. repeated threats to cause physical pain to any person in
whom the aggrieved person is interested.
iv. "economic abuse" includes-
a. deprivation of all or any economic or financial resources
to which the aggrieved person is entitled under any law or
custom whether payable under an order of a court or
otherwise or which the aggrieved person requires out of
necessity including, but not limited to, household
necessities for the aggrieved person and her children, if
any, stridhan, property, jointly or separately owned by the
aggrieved person, payment of rental related to the shared
household and maintenance;
b. disposal of household effects, any alienation of assets
whether movable or immovable, valuables, shares, securities,
bonds and the like or other property in which the aggrieved
person has an interest or is entitled to use by virtue of
the domestic relationship or which may be reasonably
required by the aggrieved person or her children or her
stridhan or any other property jointly or separately held by
the aggrieved person; and
c. prohibition or restriction to continued access to
resources or facilities which the aggrieved person is
entitled to use or enjoy by virtue of the domestic
relationship including access to the shared household.
Explanation II.-For the purpose of determining whether any
act, omission, commission or conduct of the respondent
constitutes "domestic violence" under this section, the
overall facts and circumstances of the case shall be taken
into consideration.