The Protection Of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005
5. Duties of police officers, service providers and Magistrate.—
A police officer, Protection Officer, service provider or Magistrate who has received a complaint of domestic violence or is otherwise present at the place of an incident of domestic violence or when the incident of domestic violence is reported to him, shall inform the aggrieved person—
(a) of her right to make an application for obtaining a relief by way of a protection order, an order for monetary relief, a custody order, a residence order, a compensation order or more than one such order under this Act;
(b) of the availability of services of service providers;
(c) of the availability of services of the Protection Officers;
(d) of her right to free legal services under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (39 of 1987);
(e) of her right to file a complaint under section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), wherever relevant:
Provided that nothing in this Act shall be construed in any manner as to relieve a police officer from his duty to proceed in accordance with law upon receipt of information as to the commission of a cognizable offence.
Comments
This section lays down the duties of a police officer, Protection Officer, service provider and the Magistrate to inform the aggrieved person of her right to make an application for one or more reliefs under the Act, the availability of services of service providers and Protection Officers, her right to avail free legal services under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 and her right to file a complaint under section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, wherever relevant. It is also envisaged that this section shall not relieve any police officer from his duty to proceed in accordance with law on receipt of information as to commission of a cognizable offence.
[Notes on Clauses]
The Protection Of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005,
