The Delhi High Court has upheld the summons issued by the Rouse Avenue Court against MLA from Kunda, Uttar Pradesh Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya in a domestic violence case filed by his wife Bhanvi Kumari Singh. During the hearing, Raja Bhaiya argued that the designated MP/MLA court does not have the jurisdiction to hear the case filed under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDV Act) and the case should have been filed in the court having jurisdiction in Saket.
In the judgment delivered on May 30, Justice Swarn Kanta Sharma ruled that the MP/MLA court at Rouse Avenue Courts remains a competent magistrate court under the PWDV Act and can hear proceedings against sitting MLAs.
Purpose of creating special courts
The court said that the underlying objective of creating special courts for cases against MLAs was that cases related to MPs and MLAs should not remain pending indefinitely and should be disposed of in a time bound manner keeping in mind the larger considerations of public confidence in the administration of justice and the functioning of democratic institutions.
Court rejected Raja Bhaiya’s petition
Therefore, once a system has been created for centralized and expeditious adjudication of cases involving elected representatives, it cannot be held ineffective merely on the ground that the proceedings under the PWDV Act involve civil relief, especially when such proceedings are otherwise conducted by a Court exercising criminal jurisdiction. Therefore, the court rejected Raja Bhaiya’s petition.
What argument did Raja Bhaiya’s lawyers give?
Raja Bhaiya’s lawyers had argued that the action under the PWDV Act is mostly of civil nature and hence it is beyond the scope of the court set up to try criminal cases related to elected representatives. He also alleged that Raja Bhaiya’s wife had indulged in ‘forum shopping’ by withdrawing the earlier petition filed in the Saket court and re-filing it in the Rouse Avenue court.
The Delhi High Court rejected these arguments and said that although the remedies under the Domestic Violence Act are largely civil, the law also has criminal enforcement provisions, including punishment for breaking a protection order. The court said that the action under the PWDV Act is exclusively entrusted to the Judicial Magistrate and the Metropolitan Magistrate and is conducted through criminal procedure.
Controversy over divorce after 28 years of marriage
Let us tell you that there is a dispute going on between Raja Bhaiya and his wife Bhanvi Kumari Singh regarding divorce after 28 years of marriage. She had filed for divorce citing cruelty and abandonment. Bhanvi Singh has accused Raja Bhaiya of domestic violence, extra marital affair and financial fraud. In the Delhi High Court, Raghuraj Pratap Singh challenged the July 2024 order of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) of Rouse Avenue Courts, which is the designated court for criminal cases against MPs and MLAs.
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