New Delhi, Sept. 16: Not only a man's wife but also his mother, sister or any other aggrieved woman in a shared household can invoke the domestic violence act against him, the Centre has told the Supreme Court.

In a recent affidavit filed in response to a query from the top court, the women and child development ministry has clarified that a mother/sister can invoke provisions of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005 against the son/brother as the case may be, but not against the daughter-in-law.

At present, only daughters-in law facing domestic, matrimonial or dowry-related violence invoke the act against their husbands or his female relatives. This is because of a misconception that only wives and daughters-in-law are empowered to do so.

"The scope of definition is wide enough to include a person as aggrieved person who lives, or at any stage, has lived in a domestic relationship either singly or along with the respondent (husband/male member).

"Hence, a daughter or mother who may be living elsewhere would be entitled to relief under the act in case they fall under the definition of 'aggrieved person' and have lived in a domestic relationship in a shared household with the respondent at any stage," the affidavit said.

In an earlier directive to the Centre and attorney-general Mukul Rohatgi, the top court had questioned whether only the wife or other women too could seek action under the act.

It had also specifically sought to know whether any case under the act could be filed against the daughter-in-law by the mother/sister.

The directive was issued after a daughter-in-law challenged a Bombay High Court order of September 2015 that said she could be prosecuted under the act on a complaint from her mother-in-law.

According to the affidavit, filed by women's ministry under-secretary Sanjay Kumar Sinha, the primary objective of the act was to protect women from domestic violence and provide them relief in the form of protection, residence and monetary relief in emergency situations.

"As such, all women are covered under this act and any woman who is living in a domestic relationship with the perpetrator can file for such relief under this law.

"An aggrieved woman can seek for relief in the form of residence order, monetary relief and other relief. I further say that to ensure that the right of one woman is not upheld at the cost of another woman.

"In recognition of their specific vulnerability, the definition of aggrieved person under Section 2(a) includes every woman who is or has been in a domestic relationship with the respondent and who alleges to have been subjected to domestic violence by the respondent," the affidavit said.

Any woman who has been a victim of domestic violence can approach the magistrate and seek relief under the act, the Centre clarified.

"The only difference is that while the wife/female partner can make the female relatives of the husband or male partner as respondent, on the other hand the female relatives (mother, sisters relatives of the husband) can make only the adult male member as the respondent.

"The exception has been included to ensure consistency with provisions such as Section 498A of the IPC wherein the wife can include female relatives of the husband as respondents," the Centre said.

Citing an apex court judgment of 2010 in the Shandhya Manoj Wankhade Vs Manoj Bheem Rao Wankhade, the Centre said: "Legislature never intended to exclude female relatives of the husband or the male partner from the ambit of the complaint that could be made under provisions of the Domestic Violence Act.

"It is agreed that women other than wives and female partners are also susceptible to domestic violence."

In its judgment, Bombay High Court had ruled that the law did not exclusively protect wives, but also mothers and sisters. It had also held that the mother/sister could file a domestic violence case not just against the son/brother but also the daughter-in-law.