Order reserved in domestic violence case jurisdiction

CHENNAI: Making a special sitting on Saturday, a three-judge bench of Madras High Court reserved orders to decide over the jurisdiction of Madras High Court in the matters filed for quashing the complaints filed under the Domestic Violence Act.

The bench comprising Justice PN Prakash, Justice RMT Teekaa Raman, and Justice AD Jagadish Chandira reserved the orders to decide whether the HC has the jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPc) to take cognizance of cases to quash the complaints filed under the Domestic Violence Act 2005.

The bench was constituted by the Chief Justice after a single judge ruled that HC has no jurisdiction to take cognizance under the Domestic Violence Act 2005 and subsequently, a division bench held that HC has the jurisdiction to hear such cases since these cases are in civil nature.