Court dismisses woman's contempt petition against husband

A Delhi court has dismissed a woman's plea seeking action against her estranged husband for not allowing her to move in with him, saying she herself failed to undertake her promise of withdrawing all cases of domestic violence against him.

The woman had filed contempt petition against her husband saying by not allowing her to move in with him with their two children, he had failed to obey the undertaking given in court "to discharge all duties and obligations as a spouse and as a father".

While dismissing her petition, Additional Sessions Judge Narinder Kumar noted, "When the husband complied with other undertakings regarding payment of money, there was no material on record to suggest he committed breach of the fourth undertaking (of fulfilling his duties as husband and father).
 

"She herself did not comply with her undertaking to withdraw the petition filed against her husband under Section 12 of the Domestic Violence Act," it said.

It was during the pendency of cases filed by each spouse that they arrived at a settlement and took certain undertakings. Besides other obligations, the husband undertook to "bind himself to discharge all my duties and obligations as a father and husband".

The wife, in turn, promised to withdraw all petitions filed by her against her husband and stay with him.

After hearing the contempt petition, the court said, "Settlement was arrived at to bring peace between the parties so that they could live together amicably. But here is the petitioner (woman) herself who committed breach of settlement by not withdrawing her petition under Section 12 of the DV Act and unsettled the settled matter.