New Delhi : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought response of Centre and others on plea to ensure mandatory registration of FIRs in criminal complaints filed by women against their husbands where physical violence and other cognizable offences such as attempt to murder, grievous hurt are clearly made out in line with the principles laid down by Supreme Court in Lalita Kumari’s judgment.

The petitioners seek direction to modify the 2008 Standing Order and the 2019 Standing Order to ensure that express consent from complainants is taken before reference to mediation or reconciliation.

The bench of Justice Satish Chander Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula on Wednesday after noting down the submissions, sought response from the Union of India, Delhi Government and Delhi Police and fixed the matter for further hearing on November 22.

According to the plea, petitioners in the matter are women who have suffered severe physical violence at the hands of their husbands for several years and have failed to get any recourse from the concerned authorities.

Out of them one petitioner is a Para-LegalVolunteer who has assisted several married women whose husbands have perpetrated or attempted to perpetrate the gravest form of violence against them in filing police complaints and requesting police officials to take appropriate action.

The plea stated that the 2008 Standing Order and the 2019 Standing Order are in violation of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution as they discriminate against 'married women' and do not accord them the same protection as provided to other citizens, against torture and violence.

The petitioners requested the court to issue direction that first information reports (FIR) must be mandatorily registered on complaints by women alleging physical violence by their husbands, instead of requiring that they first go through a mediation process.

It is seen that when there are other offences that have also been made out in the complaint, such as attempt to murder and grievous hurt, the police still fail to register FIRs and refer the case to mediation, the plea added.

Further, serious allegations of attempt to murder and grievous hurt are treated just as other offences under Section 498A of the IPC when the allegations are made by a married woman against her husband and/or in-laws, as opposed to independent offences under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) or 323 (grievous hurt).

It is submitted that there was no legislative intent to prohibit a married women from invoking an offence under the IPC against her husband, barring that of rape, which provides for a clear and specific exception, the plea read.