SRINAGAR: A Srinagar court has granted protection, residence rights, compensation and monthly maintenance to a woman who accused her husband of prolonged physical, emotional and economic abuse, holding that the allegations and evidence placed on record clearly established acts of domestic violence under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
The order was passed by Kamiya Singh Andotra, Special Mobile Magistrate Srinagar and Railway Magistrate Kashmir, in the case titled Arifa Hamid versus Shahid Iqbal.
The petition was instituted on November 28, 2024 and judgment was delivered on May 8, 2026.
The petitioner, Arifa Hamid of Zewan, Srinagar, was represented by Javaid Ahmad Baba.
The respondent, Shahid Iqbal, a resident of Adil Nagar in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, did not appear before the court despite service of notice, following which ex-parte proceedings were initiated against him on June 11, 2025.
According to the petition, the parties were married on November 1, 2011 and have two children — a son aged around 11 years and a daughter aged around six years — both presently residing with the petitioner.
The woman alleged that after a brief period of cordial relations, she was subjected to continuous harassment, dowry demands, physical assault and emotional abuse by her husband. She claimed that the respondent repeatedly pressured her to bring more money and valuables from her parental home and subjected her to humiliation and violence when those demands were not met.
The petitioner further alleged that the respondent had taken away gold ornaments worth nearly Rs 50 lakh and additionally borrowed around Rs 62 lakh from her on the assurance that the money would be returned, but allegedly failed to repay the amount.
According to the pleadings, the respondent allegedly forced her to leave for her parental home on the pretext that he had secured employment in the Maldives and would later call her there. The petitioner told the court that the claim later turned out to be false and that the husband had allegedly abandoned her and the children.
She also alleged that she was frequently abused verbally, kept starved for days, assaulted physically and subjected to severe mental trauma during her stay at the matrimonial home.
The petitioner informed the court that she and her children were presently residing at her parental home and that she had no independent source of income. She further stated that the children were studying at Birla Open Minds School and that their educational expenses alone amounted to around Rs 16,000 per month.
The court recorded ex-parte evidence of the petitioner as well as affidavits filed by two supporting witnesses — Abdul Hamid Wani and Lalee Jee Wani — who corroborated the allegations made in the petition.
After hearing final arguments and examining the material on record, the court observed that the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act is a beneficial legislation intended to safeguard women against all forms of violence occurring within domestic relationships.
The magistrate held that the allegations and evidence established physical, emotional, verbal and economic abuse within the meaning of Section 3 of the Domestic Violence Act.
“Respondent did not lead any evidence to rebut the case of petitioner,” the court observed while concluding that the petitioner had been subjected to domestic violence.
Allowing the petition, the court directed the respondent to either provide suitable residential accommodation to the petitioner and the children with necessary amenities or alternatively pay monthly rent of at least Rs 6,000.
The court also restrained the respondent from committing any further act of violence against the petitioner and directed the concerned Child Development Project Officer to provide protection whenever required.
As monetary relief, the court awarded a one-time amount of Rs 20,000 to the petitioner and further directed payment of Rs 10,000 per month as maintenance from the date of the order.
In addition, the court awarded compensation of Rs 15,000 for the physical and emotional trauma suffered by the petitioner and directed that the amount be paid within three months.
The petition and connected applications were accordingly disposed of by the court.
