In The News: Notice to protection officer in domestic violence act
The Times of India, Pune Edition, recently reported the case about how magistrate court on June 18, 2009, issued a show-cause notice to a protection officer and nayab tehsildar in Pune in a domestic violence case filed by a woman national cricket player. Details of the case given below, courtesy The Times Of India.
"Judicial magistrate first class Umeshchandra More on June 12 had directed the protection officer, Ujjwala Sarote, to submit a report after the woman complained that she had no place to reside and that she was keeping her luggage in her car.
The woman, who is a practising lawyer at the district and sessions court, had further complained that her husband who is a director of a travel agency, was in possession of two flats and that she be allowed to stay in one of the flats.
The court had directed Sarote to conduct a detail inquiry with the applicant woman, her respondent husband and others and submit a report on June 15.
However, Sarote in her report submitted to the court had expressed her inability to conduct an inquiry because the place where the incident had taken place that is in Kothrud, which did not come under her jurisdiction.
When the case came up for hearing on Thursday, the victim’s lawyer Harshad Nimbalkar and Anita Kataria told the court that Sarote had received the summons send by the court for conducting an inquiry, but she was not co-operating with her client and that she had refused to prepare a report.
Kataria filed an application and prayed to take action against Sarote for not complying with the court order. The court in its order has discussed in detail the role played by the protection officer under sections 9 and 10 of the Domestic Violence Act.
The protection officer’s report enables a magistrate to arrive at a conclusion in domestic violence cases.
The magistrate observed that the explanation given by Sarote that Kothrud did not come under the tehsildar’s office was not acceptable as it was mandatory on her part to comply with the court’s earlier order.
The respondent husband’s lawyer Amol Sant did not object to issuing notice to Sarote.
The court upheld the victim’s lawyer’s plea and issued a show-cause notice to Sarote. A copy of the notice has been send to the district collector for information."
Tagged domestic violence, Law
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ADV. NEEELIMA KANETKARJune 26, 2009 at 2:07 pm
THE PROTECTION OFFICERS REQUIRE ORIENTATION AND TRAING TO HANDEL THESE SENSITIVE ISSUES,TO UNDERSTAND THEIR ROLL AND NOT TO GET STICK IN RED TAPPISM. THE APPROCH SHOULD BE “HOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS ” AND NOT TO CREAT ONE. THEIR ROLL IS VERY IMPORTENT BUT HARDLY ANY BATCH IS TRAINED ENOUGH, TO DEVELOP SENSITIVITY TO ISSUES AT HAND.THAT CREATS GAPS IN EFFECTIVENESS OF THE STATUTE