The Supreme Court in Prabha Tyagi vs Kamlesh Devi gave a wider meaning to the expression "joint family" used in Section 2(f) of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005.
The factual background of the case is that the aggrieved woman is a widow ousted by her in-laws. For the period immediately following the wedding, the aggrieved person was residing at the ancestral home of the respondents along with her mother-in-law-respondent no.1, two brothers-in-law, the wife of her husband’s elder brother and six sisters-in-law. Thereafter, the aggrieved person began living with her husband and the respondents in the village of Jhabreda. That the aggrieved woman’s husband died on 15th July 2005 in a car accident and after the Terhanvi ceremony of her husband, the aggrieved person was constrained to reside initially in Delhi, at her father’s house. She gave birth to a daughter and moved to Dehradun but owing to the torture meted out to her by her inlaws she started to work as a teacher to support herself and her daughter. It is claimed by her that her in-laws didn’t even let her enjoy her Stridhan from day 1 of her marriage and had even made demands for dowry to which the woman’s family had agreed and even given it to them before marriage.
Various issues cropped up, one of them being a woman’s right to reside in a shared household for which the interpretation of the term ‘domestic relationship’ and ‘joint family’ became very necessary.
The Court, therefore, observed that:-
- "joint family" as "persons living together jointly as a family". The court held that a joint family does not mean a joint family as understood in Hindu Law. It would also include those persons who are living together or jointly as a joint family such as foster children who live with other members who are related by consanguinity, marriage or by adoption.
- "In the Indian societal context, the right of a woman to reside in the shared household is of unique importance. The reasons for the same are not far to see. In India, most women are not educated nor are they earning; neither do they have financial independence so as to live singly. She may be dependent on residence in a domestic relationship not only for emotional support but for the aforesaid reasons. The said relationship may be by consanguinity, marriage or through a relationship in the nature of marriage, adoption or is a part of or is living together in a joint family. A majority of women in India do not have independent income or financial capacity and are totally dependent vis-à-vis their residence on their male or other female relations who may have a domestic relationship with her".