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Section 17: Right to reside in a shared household

Domestic Violence Act, 2005 • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Right
Civil Right
JMFC / Mahila Court
Act 2005
Section 16 All 37 Sections of Domestic Violence Act, 2005 Section 18

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 17

Section 17 guarantees every woman in a domestic relationship the absolute statutory right to reside in the shared household, prohibiting unlawful dispossession.

  • Statutory Rights & Obligations: This provision creates an affirmative right of roof over a married woman's head, neutralizing immediate retaliatory lockouts, eviction notices, and domestic dispossession by in-laws.
  • Procedural Scope: Sets the parameters for invoking statutory remedies and judicial protections.

Section 17 secures the non-negotiable right of residence, guaranteeing that no woman in a domestic relationship can be arbitrarily dispossessed from the shared household.

Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Satish Chander Ahuja v. Sneha Ahuja (2020) 10 SCC 756: In a historic ruling overruling S.R. Batra v. Taruna Batra, the Supreme Court held that Section 17 grants a woman the right to reside in the shared household even if the property belongs exclusively to the father-in-law or mother-in-law, so long as the woman lived there in a domestic relationship.
  • Prabha Tyagi v. Kamlesh Devi (2022) 5 SCC 801: Held that the right to reside in a shared household under Section 17 exists even if the woman is not residing there at the time of filing the application, protecting women thrown out of matrimonial homes.
Legal Commentary:

Section 17 is arguably the most radical property-protection reform enacted in Indian family law. By delinking the woman's right of residence from formal title or ownership deeds, the Supreme Court has ensured that in-laws cannot collusively transfer or claim exclusive ownership of family homes to render an estranged daughter-in-law destitute and homeless.

Section 16 All 37 Sections of Domestic Violence Act, 2005 Section 18