The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 can be used by women as a “shield or a sword” only to protect themselves from violence and not to cause violence on their male life partners, the Madras High Court Bench here has said.
Justice S. Vimala made the observation while dismissing a revision petition filed by a woman accused of having preferred as many as 15 police complaints against her husband despite him having provided money and jewellery to her besides educating their daughter.
“This is a case where the respondent as a father has made his daughter a professionally-qualified person by educating her up to the level of B.Tech. Even before the claim for maintenance, he has provided shelter, medical facilities, education, rental income and so on.
“Suppression of material facts in a case, between the husband and wife, involving an intimate relationship, itself would amount to cruelty.
“Neglecting the husband, treating him as invisible and not inviting him to the marriage of his own daughter would certainly amount to causing mental cruelty,” the judge said.
