Domestic Violence Complaint Ignored by the Protection Officer or Police? India Action Plan

Reviewed on: 2026-06-12.

A woman writes that she reported the abuse at her home to the Protection Officer three weeks ago and heard nothing, and when she went to the police they told her to “go back and adjust”. She does not know whether to keep waiting at one office, try another, or give up. The answer is that she does not have to wait for any of them. Under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (the PWDVA or “DV Act”), she can go straight to a Magistrate, who can pass protection, residence, and maintenance orders. This guide is for that situation, where a domestic violence complaint is being ignored or delayed.

If you are in danger right now, call 112 for police and 181 for the women helpline. Both are free and work across India. Everything else can wait until you are safe.

Quick answer: Your safety comes first. You do not depend on a single office: the DV Act gives you several doors, the Protection Officer, the police, a registered service provider, or a direct application to the Magistrate, and you can move from one to another. Preserve evidence, keep dated copies of every complaint, and escalate inaction in writing to a senior police officer and to the District Legal Services Authority, which provides free legal aid. Use RTI only to check status or records, and only where it is safe and will not reveal your address.

The DV Act was built so that one official's inaction cannot trap you. A Protection Officer or a registered service provider normally records a Domestic Incident Report (DIR) and places it before the Magistrate, but a stalled DIR does not stop your application, the court itself can call for a DIR. You can file the application directly before the Magistrate without waiting for anyone. This is a civil-protection law, and it can run alongside any criminal complaint to the police. So if the Protection Officer is silent and the police push you to “compromise”, you still have a clear, open route to the court.

• Keep a small bag ready with your phone and charger, some cash, identity documents, medicines, and spare clothes, in case you must leave quickly.
• Save 112 (police) and 181 (women helpline). Many phones let you trigger an emergency call by pressing the power button several times.
• Tell one trusted person where you are and agree on a code word that means “I need help now”.
• Ask 181 or a One Stop Centre (Sakhi Centre) about a shelter home if staying at home is unsafe. The Magistrate can later order that you not be removed from the shared household, but your safety today comes first.

• Keep a private incident diary, date, time, what happened, who was present, stored outside the home or in a secure account the abuser cannot access.
• Save medical records, prescriptions, and discharge papers, and photograph any injuries clearly.
• Export threatening messages, call logs, audio, and screenshots, and back them up twice, one digital, one with a trusted relative.
• Keep copies of every complaint already filed, with the date and any acknowledgement.

1. Secure safety. If violence is happening or threatened, call 112. If staying at home is unsafe, use 181 or a One Stop Centre for a shelter.
2. Put the complaint in writing. Whether to the Protection Officer or the police, submit it in writing and insist on a dated acknowledgement. If they refuse, send it by registered post or to the official email so the date is recorded.
3. Ask for the DIR. Ask the Protection Officer to record your Domestic Incident Report and give you a copy. Note the dates of your requests if they delay.
4. Escalate inaction. For police inaction, write to the DCP or Superintendent of Police and the Women Cell. For a Protection Officer's inaction, write to the District Magistrate or the District Women and Child Development Officer, since Protection Officers report through that line. Quote your earlier complaint date in every follow-up.
5. Go to the Magistrate. File an application yourself, through a service provider, or with free legal aid from the District Legal Services Authority. The Magistrate can pass interim and ex-parte orders for urgent protection. If a cognisable offence exists and the police refuse an FIR, you can ask the Magistrate for directions to register it.
6. Get free legal aid. Through the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and the State and National Legal Services Authorities. Ask 181 or a One Stop Centre to connect you.

To: The Protection Officer / The Station House Officer, [office / police
station], [District]

Subject: Domestic violence complaint and request for action under the
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005

1. I am [Your Name], residing at / formerly residing at [shared household
   address]. I am in a domestic relationship with [Respondent], my
   [husband / partner / relation].
2. I am facing domestic violence of the following nature: [physical /
   sexual / verbal / emotional / economic abuse, with dates].
3. Recent incidents: a. [date] - [what happened] - [witnesses].
   b. [date] - [what happened] - [witnesses].
4. I earlier complained on [date] to [office/person] but no action has
   been taken. [Attach copy and acknowledgement if available.]
5. I request that (a) my Domestic Incident Report be recorded and placed
   before the Magistrate; (b) urgent steps be taken for my protection;
   and (c) I be informed in writing of the action taken.
6. Enclosed: incident diary, medical records, photographs, message
   screenshots, witness list, identity proof, earlier complaint copies.
7. Please acknowledge receipt with date and reference.

[Your Full Name, a safe contact number, a safe return address]

Use a safe return address, a relative's address or a lawyer's office, if disclosing your current address could put you at risk.

A police station, a Protection Officer's office, a District Legal Services Authority, and a One Stop Centre are public bodies, so RTI is a useful but secondary tool, in narrow situations:

• To get the dated status of a stalled complaint and the action taken on your specific reference, where it is safe to ask.
• To get an action-taken record, whether your complaint was forwarded to the Magistrate, whether a DIR was prepared, and the dates of internal noting.
• To confirm facilities, the list of Protection Officers, registered service providers, shelter homes, or One Stop Centres in your district, which is general information that reveals nothing about your situation.

See how to file RTI online and first and second appeals if there is no reply.

• RTI cannot give you protection. Only a Magistrate can pass a protection or residence order, and only the police can intervene physically.
• Safety and privacy risk: an RTI becomes part of a file others may see. If revealing your name, address, or movements could endanger you, do not file it yourself; work through a lawyer or a service provider, or use a safe return address.
• The RTI reply window is far slower than the urgent timelines you need. The helpline, the police, and the court are the fast routes.

• Waiting for one office to act when several doors are open under the DV Act.
• Complaining only verbally, which is easy to ignore and impossible to prove.
• Storing photos and messages only on a phone the abuser can access.
• Letting “compromise” pressure stop you; that is not a lawful response to your complaint.
• Skipping free legal aid because you fear the cost of a private lawyer.
• Filing RTI in a way that exposes your address to the abuser.

Yes. Under the PWDVA 2005 an aggrieved person can file an application directly before the Magistrate. You do not have to wait for a Protection Officer or police. Choose whichever route is safest and quickest, the Protection Officer, the police, a service provider, or the court.

A Domestic Incident Report (DIR) records the abuse in the prescribed form. A Protection Officer or a registered service provider normally records it and places it before the Magistrate. If the Protection Officer is not responding, you can still file your application in court directly; the court can call for a DIR.

Ask for written acknowledgement and the reason for refusal. Escalate in writing to a senior officer such as the DCP or SP and to the Women Cell, and send the complaint by registered post or email for a dated record. For a cognisable offence, you may ask a Magistrate for directions to register an FIR.

You can file without a private lawyer, and free legal aid is available through the District Legal Services Authority. Because protection, residence, custody, and maintenance reliefs can be complex, help from a lawyer, a registered service provider, or a women's rights organisation is strongly advisable, especially if the other side contests.

The Magistrate can pass protection orders, residence orders (including that you not be removed from the shared household), monetary relief and maintenance, custody, and compensation, and can grant interim and ex-parte orders for urgent protection.

RTI can fetch the status or action-taken record from a public office such as a police station or Protection Officer's office, but only use it where it is safe and will not reveal your address. RTI cannot grant protection or compel relief; for that you need the Magistrate or the police.

Call 181, the women helpline, which can connect you to a Protection Officer, a registered service provider, a One Stop Centre (Sakhi Centre), a shelter home, or free legal aid. The Ministry of Women and Child Development runs these schemes.

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• All practical guides
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Download the domestic violence escalation checklist (PDF).