In Brief
A wife whose divorce petition was dismissed sought maintenance and compensation under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, alleging that her husband, while still legally married to her, married another woman and neglected her and their children. The Magistrate allowed her claim; the Sessions Court reversed on the ground that unsuccessful divorce proceedings made the Act inapplicable. The High Court disagreed and restored the Magistrate's order, finding that the marriage had not dissolved and the husband's second marriage constituted mental domestic violence. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that an unsuccessful divorce petition does not deprive a spouse of protections under the Domestic Violence Act, and that bigamy while the first marriage subsists constitutes domestic violence justifying maintenance and compensation.
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