DV Act Residence v. Senior Citizens Eviction · 3 September 2026

Devba Pauladsing Girase v. Kavita Himmatsing Girase & Ors.: Senior Citizens Act Cannot Be Used to Defeat a Woman's Residence Order Under the DV Act

High Court of Judicature at Bombay · Writ Petition (Senior Citizens Act eviction)

In 2018 a Judicial Magistrate partly allowed a daughter-in-law's application under Section 12 of the Domestic Violence Act, granting ₹11,000 a month for her and her two minor daughters and directing that the family not evict her from the disputed house or obstruct her possession except by due process. That order survived appeal and further High Court challenges. The husband's father, a 70-year-old who described himself as having no independent income, then applied before the Sub-Divisional Officer, Shirpur, under Sections 4 and 5 of the Senior Citizens Act, 2007, seeking to have her vacate the same house with police assistance. The SDO and, on appeal, the District Collector rejected the application, and he moved the High Court.

Justice Ajit B. Kadethankar dismissed the petition with costs of ₹50,000. The Court noted the petitioner admittedly owned more than one property in Shirpur and found his claim of being forced into rented premises undocumented, calling it a cooked story. Relying on S. Vanitha v. Deputy Commissioner, Bengaluru Urban District, it held that the Senior Citizens Act and the DV Act must be harmoniously construed and that the former cannot override a woman's right to reside in a shared household. It found the petition not bona fide and an attempt to circumvent the 2018 DV order, describing it as a proxy proceeding at the instance of the son.

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