Lok Sabha Question No. 734 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-07
Subject: Domestic Violence
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Daroga Prasad Saroj, Shri Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 734

TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.02.2025

## Domestic Violence

- +734. Shri Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav:

Shri Daroga Prasad Saroj:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

(a) whether the domestic violence against women continues to be a common crime in the country despite the existence of Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act; 2005, if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the Government proposes to provide effective legal aid and shelter homes to women who are victims of domestic abuse, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(c) the number of cases registered under the said Act during the last three years and the current year, State-wise;

(d) whether the Government has reviewed or investigated the said cases and if so, the details thereof;

(e)  the  designated  safety  officers  along  with  the  shelters  built  for  the  protection  of victims of violence under the said Act till date; and

(f) whether the Government has provided any compensation to the victims of domestic violence under the Central Victim Compensation Fund Scheme since, 2019, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

(SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)

(a) to (e): The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes data on crimes, including crime against women, in its publication 'Crime in India', which is   available on the website of NCRB https://ncrb.gov.in. The said report is available upto the year 2022. As per information available with NCRB, the number of cases registered under the 'the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005' (PWDVA) during the last three years i.e. 2020, 2021 and 2022 are 446, 507 and 468 respectively. The State/ UT-wise details of cases registered under PWDV Act, 2005 during the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 are at Annexure-I.

Police'  and  'Public  Order'  are  State  subjects  under  the  Seventh  Schedule  to  the Constitution of India. The responsibility to maintain law and order, protection of life and property of the citizens including investigation and prosecution of crime against women and  children  including  the  cases  of  domestic  violence,  rests  primarily  with  the respective State Governments and they are competent to deal with it.

The  implementation  of  the  PWDVA  comes  under  purview  of  the  respective  State Government/  UT  Administration.   The  Section-  8  of  PWDVA,  empowers  the  State Government  to  appoint,  by  notification  in  the  Official  Gazette,  such  number  of Protection Officers in each district as it considers necessary and also to notify the area in which such Protection Officer shall exercise the powers conferred and discharge the duties imposed under the said legislation. It is the duty of the Protection Officer to report the cases of domestic violence to the Magistrate upon receipt of complaints and to assist the Magistrate in the discharge of his functions. However, conviction of a person comes under purview of the Judiciary, who decides the matter after careful consideration of factual positions and all related aspects as per the provisions of the PWDVA. The PWDVA provides remedies such as protection order, residence order, monetary  relief,  custody  order  and  compensation  order  against  it.  Further,  as  per Section-9 of PWDVA, it is duty of the Protection Officer to ensure that the aggrieved women is provided free legal aid as per the provisions of Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.

The  Central  Government  gives  highest  priority  to  ensuring  safety  and  security  of women and has undertaken various legislative and schematic interventions in this regard. These include legislations such as 'The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018' (amended provisions are now included under Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita),

'The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 200 5 ', 'The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961', etc. The schemes/ projects implemented by the Government include One Stop  Centers  (OSCs);  Universalisation  of  Women  Helplines  (WHL),  Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) which is a pan-India single number(112)/ mobile app  based  system  for  emergencies;  capacity building in  community  through awareness programmes, setting up/ strengthening of Women Help Desks (WHDs) at Police Stations etc.

Further,  under  'Mission  Shakti',  the  umbrella  scheme  for  safety,  security  and empowerment  of  women,  the  Ministry  implements  the  components  of  'One  Stop Centre (OSC)' under which integrated services such as Medical Aid, Psycho-social Counselling,  Police  Facilitation,  Legal  Aid  and  Counselling  and  Temporary  Shelter upto  5  days  are  provided  under  one  roof.  If  required,  the  needy  women  can  be accommodated in OSC for some more time or can be provided shelter in 'Shakti Sadan', another component of Mission Shakti. As on date, 802 OSCs are functional in the country. In addition, 404 Shakti Sadans are functional across the country for assisting the women victims of difficult circumstances. The State/ UT wise number of Shakti Sadan is at Annexure-II .

Under Nirbhaya Fund, Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) has also  undertaken  several  initiatives,  which,  inter-alia  includes  training  and  skill development programs for Investigation Officers, Prosecution Officers and Medical Officers.  BPR&D  has  also  prepared  Standard  Operating  Procedures  (SoPs)  for 'Women Help Desk at Police Stations' to ensure smooth functioning of Women Help Desks by focusing  on  four  critical  components,  viz.  infrastructure,  training,  human resource development and response mechanism. A book titled 'Women's Safety and Security- a Handbook for First Responders and Investigators in the Police' has also been prepared for the purpose of prevention and investigation of crime against women with specific reference to the crime of sexual assault, which includes investigation, victim  compensation  and  rehabilitation.  Emphasis  has  been  laid  upon  appropriate behavioural and attitudinal skills of the police in course of prevention and detection of crime against women and children and interaction with victims of crime. Webinars on women safety with sensitivity, gender sensitization of police personnel etc. have also been organized by BPR&D.

Recognizing the need for psycho-social counselling to women affected by violence and those in distress, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has engaged the services of National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) for providing basic and advanced training under the project named 'Stree Manoraksha' to the staff of One Stop Centres (OSCs) across the country on handling psycho-social and mental health care needs to support to such women. The Ministry undertakes awareness exercise for safety and security of women and children from time to time.

Further, the Government, through institutions like the National Commission for Women (NCW)  and  their  counterparts  in  States  have  been  spreading  awareness  through seminars, workshops, audio- visual, print and electronic media etc. to sensitize the people about the safety and security of women and also about various provisions of the  legislations  etc.  In  addition,  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  and Ministry of Home Affairs have issued advisories to States/ UTs from time to time on various issues pertaining to safety and security of women and children.

(f)  :The  process  of  Victim  Compensation  is  set  into  motion  through  two  methods. Firstly,  the  trial  court  is  empowered  to  make  recommendation  to the  District  Legal Services Authority (DLSA) or State Legal Services Authority (SLSA), as the case may be, to decide quantum of compensation to be awarded under the scheme framed by the State Government. The trial court can also make a recommendation in case it is satisfied that the compensation awarded under section 395 of BNSS (earlier 357 of CrPC) is not  adequate for rehabilitation.  Secondly,  in  cases  where  the  offender  is neither traced nor identified, but the victim is identified, the victim and their dependents may  make  an  application  to  the  DLSA  or  SLSA  for  award  of  compensation.  On receiving such an application, the DLSA or SLSA has to conduct an inquiry and to award adequate compensation following the due procedure.

Further, pursuant to the directions of Hon'ble Supreme Court in Writ Petition(C) No. 565/2012  (Nipun  Saxena  vs  Union  of  India  and  others),  National  Legal  Services Authority (NALSA) has prepared compensation scheme for women victims/ survivors of sexual assault/ other crimes. The same was circulated to all States/ UTs. Many of the State Governments have revised their existing Victim Compensation Schemes in accordance with the NALSA's scheme. The scheme provides for a Women Victim Compensation Fund which is a segregated fund for disbursement for women victim, out of State Victim Compensation Fund and Central Fund. The Central Fund means the contribution received from Central Victim Compensation Fund (CVCF) Scheme, 2015. Central Government has provided one time grant-in-aid of Rs. 200 Crores under Central Victim Compensation Fund (CVCF) to States / UTs under 'Nirbhaya Fund' to supplement their respective Victim Compensation Funds.

******

Annexure-I

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTs (a) to (e) OF THE LOK  SABHA UN- STARRED QUESTION NO. 734 FOR ANSWER ON 07.02.2025 ASKED BY SHRI  SANJAY  HARIBHAU  JADHAV  AND   SHRI  DAROGA  PRASAD  SAROJ REGARDING 'DOMESTIC VIOLENCE'

The State/UT-wise details of cases registered under PWDV Act, 2005 during the years 2020, 2021 and 2022.

| SL                           | State/UT                     |   2020 No. of Incidences/Cases |   2021 No. of Incidences/Cases |   2022 No. of Incidences/Cases |
|------------------------------|------------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
| 1Andhra Pradesh              | 1Andhra Pradesh              |                              0 |                              1 |                              0 |
| 2Arunachal Pradesh           | 2Arunachal Pradesh           |                              0 |                              1 |                              1 |
| 3Assam                       | 3Assam                       |                              0 |                              1 |                              0 |
| 4Bihar                       | 4Bihar                       |                             23 |                              0 |                              0 |
| 5Chhattisgarh                | 5Chhattisgarh                |                              0 |                              1 |                              0 |
| 6Goa                         | 6Goa                         |                              0 |                              0 |                              0 |
| 7Gujarat                     | 7Gujarat                     |                              0 |                              0 |                              1 |
| 8Haryana                     | 8Haryana                     |                              0 |                              3 |                              1 |
| 9Himachal Pradesh            | 9Himachal Pradesh            |                              2 |                              1 |                              2 |
| 10Jharkhand                  | 10Jharkhand                  |                             66 |                             82 |                             67 |
| 11Karnataka                  | 11Karnataka                  |                              0 |                              0 |                              0 |
| 12Kerala                     | 12Kerala                     |                            165 |                            270 |                            371 |
| 13Madhya Pradesh             | 13Madhya Pradesh             |                            180 |                            131 |                             10 |
| 14Maharashtra                | 14Maharashtra                |                              3 |                              5 |                              1 |
| 15Manipur                    | 15Manipur                    |                              1 |                              2 |                              0 |
| 16Meghalaya                  | 16Meghalaya                  |                              0 |                              0 |                              0 |
| 17Mizoram                    | 17Mizoram                    |                              0 |                              1 |                              0 |
| 18Nagaland                   | 18Nagaland                   |                              0 |                              0 |                              0 |
| 19Odisha                     | 19Odisha                     |                              0 |                              0 |                              0 |
| 20Punjab                     | 20Punjab                     |                              0 |                              0 |                              0 |
| 21Rajasthan                  | 21Rajasthan                  |                              0 |                              1 |                              3 |
| 22Sikkim                     | 22Sikkim                     |                              0 |                              0 |                              0 |
| 23Tamil Nadu                 | 23Tamil Nadu                 |                              0 |                              1 |                              5 |
| 24Telangana                  | 24Telangana                  |                              0 |                              0 |                              0 |
| 25Tripura                    | 25Tripura                    |                              0 |                              0 |                              0 |
| 26Uttar Pradesh              | 26Uttar Pradesh              |                              0 |                              1 |                              3 |
| 27Uttarakhand                | 27Uttarakhand                |                              0 |                              0 |                              0 |
| 28West Bengal                | 28West Bengal                |                              1 |                              0 |                              0 |
| TOTAL STATE(S)               | TOTAL STATE(S)               |                            441 |                            502 |                            465 |
| 29A&N Islands                | 29A&N Islands                |                              0 |                              0 |                              0 |
| 30Chandigarh                 | 30Chandigarh                 |                              0 |                              0 |                              0 |
| 31D&N Haveli and Daman & Diu | 31D&N Haveli and Daman & Diu |                              0 |                              0 |                              0 |
| 32Delhi                      | 32Delhi                      |                              2 |                              4 |                              3 |

| 33Jammu & Kashmir   |   3 |   1 |   0 |
|---------------------|-----|-----|-----|
| 34Ladakh            |   0 |   0 |   0 |
| 35Lakshadweep       |   0 |   0 |   0 |
| 36Puducherry        |   0 |   0 |   0 |
| TOTAL UT(S)         |   5 |   5 |   3 |
| TOTAL (ALL INDIA)   | 446 | 507 | 468 |

## Source: Crime in India

Annexure-II

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTs (a) to (e) OF THE Lok SABHA UN- STARRED QUESTION NO. 734 FOR ANSWER ON 07.02.2025 ASKED BY SHRI  SANJAY  HARIBHAU  JADHAV  AND   SHRI  DAROGA  PRASAD  SAROJ REGARDING 'DOMESTIC VIOLENCE'

The  State/  UT  wise  number  of  Shakti  Sadans  functional  across  the  country  for assisting the women victims of difficult circumstances :-

|   S. No. | State/UT                               |   Number of Functional Shakti Sadans |
|----------|----------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
|        1 | Andaman and Nicobar                    |                                    0 |
|        2 | Andhra Pradesh                         |                                   28 |
|        3 | Arunachal Pradesh                      |                                    1 |
|        4 | Assam                                  |                                   28 |
|        5 | Bihar                                  |                                    0 |
|        6 | Chandigarh                             |                                    1 |
|        7 | Chhattisgarh                           |                                    3 |
|        8 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu |                                    0 |
|        9 | Delhi                                  |                                    2 |
|       10 | Goa                                    |                                    1 |
|       11 | Gujarat                                |                                    0 |
|       12 | Haryana                                |                                    0 |
|       13 | Himachal Pradesh                       |                                    1 |
|       14 | Jammu & Kashmir                        |                                    2 |
|       15 | Jharkhand                              |                                    0 |
|       16 | Karnataka                              |                                   63 |
|       17 | Kerala                                 |                                    8 |
|       18 | Ladakh                                 |                                    0 |
|       19 | Lakshadweep Islands                    |                                    0 |
|       20 | Madhya Pradesh                         |                                   14 |

| 21.   | Maharashtra   |   19 |
|-------|---------------|------|
| 22.   | Manipur       |   40 |
| 23.   | Meghalaya     |    2 |
| 24.   | Mizoram       |   12 |
| 25.   | Nagaland      |    3 |
| 26.   | Odisha        |   68 |
| 27.   | Puducherry    |    1 |
| 28.   | Punjab        |    2 |
| 29.   | Rajasthan     |    8 |
| 30.   | Sikkim        |    1 |
| 31.   | Tamil Nadu    |   36 |
| 32.   | Telangana     |   20 |
| 33.   | Tripura       |    3 |
| 34.   | Uttarakhand   |    0 |
| 35.   | Uttar Pradesh |    0 |
| 36.   | West Bengal   |   37 |
|       | Total         |  404 |

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