Domestic relationship

Section 2(f) of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 defines domestic relationship as a relationship between two persons who live or have, at any point of time, lived together in a shared household, when they are related by consanguinity, marriage, or through a relationship in the nature of marriage, adoption or are family members living together as a joint family. It is the gateway to the Act: an aggrieved person under Section 2(a) is a woman who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the respondent and alleges domestic violence by the respondent.

Two elements are required. First, the parties must live, or have at some time lived, together in a shared household; past cohabitation is enough, so a woman who has been driven out can still invoke the Act. Second, the relationship must fall within one of the listed categories. A relationship in the nature of marriage covers some live-in relationships, but the courts have held that not every live-in arrangement qualifies; it must resemble marriage in its essentials, such as the parties holding themselves out as spouses and living together for a significant period.

The definition links with other provisions. A shared household under Section 2(s) is one where the aggrieved person lives or has lived in a domestic relationship. In Satish Chander Ahuja v. Sneha Ahuja (2020) the Supreme Court held that a shared household need not belong to the husband or his joint family, so a house owned by the husband's relative where she lived in a domestic relationship can qualify. Section 17 gives every woman in a domestic relationship a right to reside in the shared household. In Hiral P. Harsora v. Kusum Narottamdas Harsora (2016) the words adult male in Section 2(q) were struck down, so a woman or a non-adult in a domestic relationship with the aggrieved person can be a respondent.

Section 2(1)(e) of the POCSO Act, 2012 adopts the same meaning. Examiners ask which relationship falls outside Section 2(f) and test the shared household cases.