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Tamil Nadu
Legal hurdles affect implementation of Act
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: The Domestic Violence Act is a milestone in realising women’s rights, but many legal and practical impediments, including the conflict of jurisdiction in the case of non-resident Indians, is hampering its effective implementation.
This was the main concern raised by speakers at a lecture on elimination of violence against women organised here on Wednesday by the United States Consulate General and the Tamil Nadu State Judicial Academy.
Presided over by Justice K. Chandru, the discussion focussed on the legal options open to women in India and the U.S.
“The Domestic Violence Act recognised violence in the home for the first time and provided for a redressal system. But we are caught in the judicial system… We cannot afford to have delayed justice,” R. Geetha, advisor, Women’s Struggle Committee, said.
The difficulties of initiating proceedings, coupled with the basic social status of women in society, meant that unless women’s organisations were vigilant, the law could not be implemented correctly.
“We should work with the law in the spirit in which it was made” Mr. Chandru said, explaining the legal difficulties the new law presented. Without additional financial commitments from the Centre and expanded human resources, the law would never be implemented properly: the court’s case load would be too high and additional burdens such as counselling too much. Furthermore, the law should not be considered a set of substantial rights but a matter of procedure because of the danger of fundamentalist backlash and communalism.
Women with husbands residing abroad were often caught between two judicial systems, and this problem was yet to be solved, according to Geetha Ramaseshan, advocate and Special Public Prosecutor, CBI, Chennai.
Their visa status was often unclear. Husbands could exploit the courts in the U.S. and obtain divorces in the absence of their wives, who would then be denied their right to defence, property and alimony. While in the U.S. the institution of marriage was considered differently (none can be compelled to remain in a marriage), these rights were important.
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