Low conviction rate in domestic violence cases

Registration of cases under Domestic Violence Act has increased over the years but the number of people convicted under the law is hopelessly negligible.

According to the data tabled in Parliament by the Ministry of Women and Child Development(WCD), in 2009 about 7803 cases were registered  across the country under this Act. However ,only 8 people were convicted.

The number of registered cases increased considerably in the following year 2010 and it was 11736. But, the number of convictions decreased and remained low with only 5.
In 2011, registration of cases decreased compared to the previous year and only 3 people were convicted.

So far as the registration of cases across the states are concerned Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu register large number of cases. In 2009, Andhra Pradesh registered 2710, Maharashtra 1395 and Tamil Nadu 2376.

In 2010, Andhra Pradesh registered 2683, Maharashtra 3505 and Tamil Nadu 4136 cases. In 2011, while figures for Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra are not available, Tamil Nadu had 3983 registered cases.

This year, the number of registered cases in Gujarat increased considerably from 67 in 2009 and 39 in 2010 to 3266 in 2011.

The Act is implemented by the state governments and the Central government reviews the implementation, Minister of state for WCD Krishna Tirath told Parliament.

‘The Central government has been emphasising upon the need to impart training to First Class Judicial Magistrates to deal with the cases under the Domestic Violence Act through judicial academies,” said Tirath.