An Analytical Study on Whether Domestic Incident Report by Protection Officers Should Be Mandatory or Obligatory Under the Domestic Violence Act, 2005

Abstract

Past literature on domestic violence reveals not just under-reporting of domestic violence, but also indicates that the legal proceedings and convictions against abusers of domestic violence are low. Women hesitate to approach state appointed authorities and prefer to approach courts directly or through lawyers, because Protection Officers are either absent or not very helpful in most cases. This option to either approach the Protection Officer or the court, is made available to women u/s 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. This option makes the appointment of a Protection Officer pointless and insignificant. This has further resulted in the courts interpreting that the Domestic Incident Report, which is to be prepared by the Protection Officer is not mandatory. A Domestic Incident Report is an important document which is somewhat akin to a First Information Report in criminal law. It has to be submitted by the Protection Officer after due investigation. In the absence of a Domestic Incident Report, due process of law and the principles of natural justice are lost. Research has revealed gross inefficiency and misuse of this law, which further leads to a  miscarriage and travesty of justice. There is an urgent need to salvage this situation by making amendments to the provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.