Court dismisses woman’s domestic violence case after 7 years of no-show

New Delhi: A Delhi court has observed that the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act is not a tool to harass a husband, emphasising the law should not be misused.The observation was made by judicial magistrate first class Shruti Sharma on Sept 10, while dismissing a case filed in 2018 by a woman against her husband due to the petitioner's prolonged absence of seven years.The woman got married in 2017, moved to Canada the same year and later acquired citizenship there. The couple eventually divorced.Despite being given multiple opportunities to present her case, the petitioner repeatedly failed to appear.Advocate Jyoti Thakur, representing the respondent, argued that the petitioner was "misusing the court's time while enjoying life abroad," calling the case "harassment at convenience" and "a textbook example of how matrimonial litigation is prolonged to put pressure".Agreeing with the counsel, the court referred to the woman as a "luxury litigant" and stated: "The court highly discourages such behaviour and prolonged litigation without a reasonable cause."On the final hearing date, the woman was granted one last opportunity to appear, either physically or virtually. When she failed to respond despite repeated calls, the court dismissed the petition.Reacting to the decision, men's rights activist Shonee Kapoor said, "This highlights that litigants cannot abuse the justice system by filing cases and then failing to follow through."