Srinagar- The High Court of J&K and Ladakh High Court has granted the government a week’s time to file an affidavit in a Public Interest Litigation, seeking directions for establishing shelter homes for destitute women in Jammu and Kashmir as mandated under the Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
A bench of Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan and Justice M.A. Chowdhary also ordered that in case the affidavit was not filed then the Director Social Welfare Department, shall appear in person on the next date of hearing on April 16.
The Division Bench’s order followed perusal of a report of court’s Registry that no affidavit, as directed in terms of orders dated 22 July 2024 and 30 December 2024 respectively, has been filed till date.
Also, Government advocate Faheem Nissar Shah, sought one week’s time as “final opportunity” to do the needful.
As per the petitioner, a “not-for-profit trust”, one of the main reasons why women put up with daily abuse and violence is that there is no other place for them to go where they can take shelter.
“The parents of the victim often force them to live with the perpetrator regardless of the kind and level of abuse that a victim is going through,” the petitioner says.
It says that the government has not implemented the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (DV) Act, 2005 in Jammu and Kashmir. “The establishment of shelter homes, as mandated by the DV Act, 2005 plays a prominent role in the efficacious implementation of the social welfare legislation,” the organisation says.
The Act was drafted and passed with the object of effectively protecting the rights of the women guaranteed under the Constitution who are victims of violence of any kind occurring within the family, it says.
“It has been more than a decade since the Act came into force in the J&K and yet the State Government fails to execute and implement the Act properly,” it says, adding, “There are no shelter homes available for the victims of domestic violence in J&K.”
The Government has failed not only to discharge the statutory obligations but has also equally failed in fulfilling and showing the requisite commitment to the constitutional and international duties and obligations with respect to the establishment of ‘shelter homes’, the petitioner organization says.
“The gender discriminatory customs/practices/rituals against women in Kashmir continue to institutionalize second class status for women and girls with regard to elections, education, marital rights, employment rights, parental rights, and inheritance and property rights,” it says, adding, “These forms of discrimination against the Kashmiri women are incompatible with their empowerment.”
Despite the adequate protection ensured by the various provisions of the Act, the organization says, the women in Kashmir are still continuing to suffer and bear the agony and trauma caused by their in-laws because of the failure on part of the State Government to create shelter homes for the protection of victims of violence and ineffectual implementation of the Act. The petitioner has sought directions for putting in place adequate infrastructure across Jammu and Kashmir for creating shelter homes for the victims of domestic violence. It also seeks the proper implementation of the mandatory provisions of Chapter III of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act and for proper appointment and functioning of Protection Officers and Service Providers.
It has also sought direction to the Chief Secretary to sensitize the police officers and members of judicial officers with respect to gender-based violence. “The aggrieved persons should be granted ‘residence order’ under Section 19 of the DV Act, 2005.”
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