Disputes and quarrels between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law are a common issue in Indian households. However, sometimes these disputes escalate and lead to serious crimes. In some families, due to harassment from the mother-in-law and other in-laws, daughters-in-law are driven to take extreme steps. On the other hand, with changing times and transformations in the family system, there are also cases emerging where mothers-in-law are being harassed by their daughters-in-law. In this context, a question had been raised for many days: does a mother-in-law have the legal right to seek justice and raise her voice against harassment by her daughter-in-law? The Allahabad High Court has now answered this question. The court stated that a mother-in-law can also seek legal remedy and file a case under the Domestic Violence Act.
In its landmark ruling, the Allahabad High Court clarified that the Domestic Violence Act is not limited only to the protection of daughters-in-law. Mothers-in-law can also file complaints under this act. In one such case, a mother-in-law had filed a complaint of domestic violence against her daughter-in-law. The daughter-in-law challenged this and approached the High Court against her mother-in-law. During the hearing, the court announced this decision.The court ruled that the aggrieved mother-in-law can file a complaint under the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, against her daughter-in-law.
Justice Alok Mathur, who was hearing the case, upheld the summons issued by a lower court in Lucknow against the mother-in-law and her family members as appropriate. According to the allegations made by the mother-in-law in the case, her daughter-in-law was pressuring her son to move into her parental home. Additionally, the mother-in-law accused the daughter-in-law of misbehaving with her and her husband and of threatening to implicate them in a false case.
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Meanwhile, the lawyer representing the daughter-in-law claimed that the mother-in-law's complaint was a retaliatory act against the complaints of dowry harassment and domestic violence previously filed by the daughter-in-law. After hearing arguments from both sides, the Allahabad High Court concluded that the mother-in-law's complaint falls under Section 12 of the Domestic Violence Act at a prima facie level. The court also validated the summons issued by the lower court against the daughter-in-law.