Application under Section 12 of the DV Act, 2005

Introduction

The PWDV Act, 2005 is one of the broadest civil remedies in Indian law. It covers physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse; recognises shared-household residence rights; and allows monetary relief, custody, compensation and protection in one application. Practitioners under-utilise it by filing thin applications.

When to Use This Prompt

• Aggrieved person within Section 2(a) facing violence as defined in Section 3.
• Shared household within Section 2(s) where residence rights are needed.
• Monetary relief, custody, compensation and protection required simultaneously.
• Urgent ex parte interim protection or residence under Section 23.

Statutory & Case-Law Backdrop

The PWDV Act is civil with criminal consequences only on breach of a protection order (S.31). Section 12 is the omnibus filing; Sections 18-22 enumerate reliefs; Section 23 permits ex parte interim orders. Hiral P. Harsora v. Kusum Narottamdas Harsora, (2016) 10 SCC 165, allowed female relatives as respondents. Satish Chander Ahuja v. Sneha Ahuja, (2021) 1 SCC 414, clarified shared-household rights.

The Prompt

Paste into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. Replace every bracketed placeholder with your specific facts before generating.

Draft an application under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 read with Rule 6 of the PWDV Rules before the Judicial Magistrate at [PLACE].

Aggrieved person: [NAME]
Respondent(s): [NAMES, RELATIONSHIPS]
Shared household: [ADDRESS]
Nature of domestic violence: [PHYSICAL / SEXUAL / VERBAL / EMOTIONAL / ECONOMIC — with incidents and dates]
Reliefs: protection (S.18), residence (S.19), monetary relief (S.20), custody (S.21), compensation (S.22), ex parte interim relief (S.23).

Structure: cause title, status of aggrieved person, respondents, chronology, jurisdiction under Section 27, prayer covering each relief, supporting affidavit, DIR reference if filed.

Anatomy of the Draft

Why the prompt is built the way it is — section by section.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• ×Treating the application as a criminal complaint.
• ×Omitting economic violence — denial of maintenance, withholding stridhan are within Section 3.
• ×Vague chronology that conflates incidents.
• ×Forgetting the Domestic Incident Report where one exists.
• ×Not pursuing interim relief at first listing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

Use the Act to its width. A Section 12 application asking for the full bouquet of reliefs is harder to fragment, delay, and more likely to deliver the protection sought.