Most discussion of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 concentrates on the reliefs — protection, residence, money, custody, compensation — and on enforcement. But the statute also equips the Magistrate with three procedural instruments directed at the human dimension of the litigation: Section 14 (counselling), Section 15 (assistance of a person qualified in family welfare), and Section 16 (proceedings in camera). Used well, they protect privacy, lower the temperature, and occasionally open a path to settlement without diluting the aggrieved person's statutory rights. This explainer covers how each operates in Delhi's courts.
Where these provisions sit in the scheme
The Act's architecture runs: application under Section 12, service under Section 13, reliefs under Sections 18 to 22, interim and ex parte powers under Section 23, and enforcement through Sections 31 and 32. Sections 14, 15 and 16 sit in the middle of that machinery as case-management tools. They recognise that a DV proceeding is not ordinary adversarial litigation — it unfolds inside a family, often with children watching, and the court's orders must be liveable long after the lawyers go home.
Section 14: counselling, with safeguards
The Magistrate may, at any stage, direct the respondent or the aggrieved person, singly or jointly, to undergo counselling with a member of a service provider possessing the qualifications prescribed under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Rules, 2006. Two features keep the provision honest. First, the timetable: where counselling is directed, the next date of hearing must fall within two months — the case cannot be parked in counselling indefinitely. Second, the Rules structure the counsellor's role: the counsellor is to work under the court's general supervision, must not be partisan, and any settlement efforts must proceed on the aggrieved person's informed consent, with the outcome reported to the court.
Counselling under Section 14 is distinct from mediation of a matrimonial dispute. The Act's reliefs are statutory entitlements; a counselling direction neither suspends them nor pressures the aggrieved person into compromise. Where a comprehensive settlement of all disputes — divorce, maintenance, custody, criminal complaints — is in prospect, that larger exercise typically proceeds through the court-annexed mediation centres, and any DV settlement is then placed before the Magistrate for orders.
Section 15: the welfare expert's assistance
Section 15 allows the Magistrate to secure the services of a person engaged in promoting family welfare — preferably a woman, and including a relative of the aggrieved person — for the purpose of assisting the court. The provision is most valuable in three situations: custody applications under Section 21, where the child's circumstances need independent assessment; residence disputes under Section 19, where the practicability of shared-household arrangements is contested; and cases involving elderly or vulnerable parties. The expert is an assistant to the court, not a witness for either side; her input supplements, and never replaces, the evidence.
Section 16: hearings behind closed doors
Section 16 permits the Magistrate to hold proceedings in camera if the circumstances warrant, and obliges the court to do so if either party desires it. The provision serves the Act's protective purpose: an aggrieved person should not have to narrate abuse to a public gallery, and a respondent facing unproven allegations has his own interest in a closed courtroom. An in-camera direction also disciplines the flow of information outward — pleadings and evidence in such proceedings should not travel to social media or the press, and parties who publicise them risk the court's displeasure and, in appropriate cases, proceedings for contempt or defamation.
Using the toolkit deliberately
Practical pointers:
Consider seeking a Section 16 direction at the first hearing in cases involving sexual allegations or children — it is a right on request, not a favour. Where the relationship may be retrievable, or where children need functioning parents whatever the outcome, propose Section 14 counselling early, and insist the two-month return date is honoured. In custody and residence fights, a Section 15 expert can break the deadlock of rival affidavits. And on every application, remember that these provisions manage the process; the reliefs under Sections 18 to 22 remain the substance, and nothing in counselling or expert assistance dilutes them.
The chamber of Advocate Manish Jha appears in domestic violence, custody and matrimonial proceedings before the Mahila Courts, Family Courts and the High Court of Delhi. This article is for general information; it is not legal advice and does not create an advocate-client relationship.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the court force counselling on the parties?
Section 14 empowers the Magistrate, at any stage, to direct the respondent or the aggrieved person — singly or jointly — to undergo counselling with a service provider member qualified under the Rules. The direction is a court order and attendance is expected; but counselling is a facilitative process, and no one can be compelled to settle. Where counselling is directed, the next hearing must be within two months.
Does counselling suspend the interim orders?
No. Counselling under Section 14 operates alongside the proceedings, not instead of them. Interim protection, residence and monetary orders continue to bind while sessions are underway, and the Magistrate retains full control of the case. A respondent cannot treat a counselling direction as a stay, and an aggrieved person does not risk her interim reliefs by participating.
What does a welfare expert under Section 15 actually do?
The Magistrate may secure the services of a person — preferably a woman — engaged in promoting family welfare, including a relative of the aggrieved person, to assist the court in discharging its functions. In practice the expert assists in assessing the domestic situation, particularly where children are involved or custody under Section 21 is in play, and gives the court a perspective the rival affidavits cannot.
Who can insist on an in-camera hearing?
Either party — and the court can act on its own motion. Section 16 permits in-camera proceedings if the Magistrate considers the circumstances warrant it, and requires it if either party so desires. In Delhi practice a request is ordinarily allowed where the allegations involve sexual abuse, minor children, or material whose public airing would defeat the Act's protective purpose.