Right to Reside in Shared Household — A Revolutionary Provision

Section 17 creates an explicit statutory right to reside in the shared household for every woman in a domestic relationship — regardless of whether she has any right, title, or beneficial interest in such property. This reversed the earlier position where courts were reluctant to allow a woman to stay in her husband's property.

Section 17(2): No person shall dispossess or exclude the aggrieved person from the shared household or any part of it without the leave of the Magistrate — even the owner respondent cannot unilaterally evict her.

Supreme Court on Section 17 — S.R. Batra v. Taruna Batra (2006): The Supreme Court clarified that the shared household is only the matrimonial home — the right cannot be extended to the husband's parents' house (which the husband does not own). This limits the scope somewhat — later criticised but upheld.

Satish Chander Ahuja v. Sneha Ahuja (2020): Supreme Court (3-judge bench) overruled S.R. Batra to the extent that the daughter-in-law has a right to reside in the shared household even if it belongs exclusively to the in-laws, provided she and her husband lived there at any point.

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