If the respondent breaks a protection order passed under the Domestic Violence Act, that breach is itself a criminal offence under Section 31. You go back to the same Magistrate who passed the order and file a complaint. The punishment is imprisonment up to 1 year, a fine up to 20,000 rupees, or both.
Quick answer. A breach of a protection order (or interim protection order) by the respondent is a cognizable, non-bailable offence under Section 31 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005. Report it to the Protection Officer and the police, and file a breach complaint before the Magistrate who issued the order.
A protection order is passed under Section 18 of the Act. It typically stops the respondent from:
If the respondent does any of the things the order forbids, that is a breach. It does not matter that they claim it was accidental or that you “invited” the contact. Once the order exists, the duty to obey it is on the respondent.
Section 31 of the Act says that a breach of a protection order, or an interim protection order, by the respondent is an offence punishable with imprisonment of up to one year, or a fine up to 20,000 rupees, or both.
Two more provisions give the section teeth:
The Magistrate can also frame additional charges. Section 31(3) allows charges for cruelty by a husband or his relatives, which was Section 498A of the old Indian Penal Code and is now Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, if the facts support it.
One limit to know. Courts have read Section 31 mainly as a penalty for breaking a protection order under Section 18. Whether it also covers breach of a residence order, monetary relief, or custody order has been read differently by different High Courts. If the respondent has stopped paying maintenance ordered under the Act, ask your lawyer about enforcement under Section 20(6) as a distance-warrant recovery, alongside a Section 31 complaint.
Anjali, a schoolteacher in Nagpur, had a Section 18 protection order that barred her estranged husband from coming to her school. Three weeks later he waited at the school gate and threatened her in front of colleagues. She saved two teachers as witnesses, told the Protection Officer the same day, and filed a Section 31 application before the same Magistrate. The court issued process against him within the month and warned that a further breach would bring custody. The gate visits stopped.
Under Section 31 of the Domestic Violence Act 2005, breach of a protection order is punishable with imprisonment up to one year, a fine up to 20,000 rupees, or both. The offence is cognizable and non-bailable.
No. Section 32 of the Act makes the offence under Section 31 cognizable and non-bailable. The police can register a case and arrest, and bail is at the court's discretion, not automatic.
As far as practicable, the same Magistrate who passed the protection order. This is set out in Section 31(2). That court already has your domestic violence file, which saves time.
Yes. Because the offence is cognizable, the police can register an FIR and act without a prior warrant. Carry a copy of the protection order when you approach the police station.
The clearest use of Section 31 is for breach of a protection order under Section 18. For unpaid maintenance ordered under Section 20, courts often use recovery as a fine or a distance warrant. Ask your lawyer to pursue both routes.
Anything that shows the respondent did what the order forbids: messages, call logs, CCTV, photos, medical records, or witnesses. Note the date, time, and place of each breach and preserve digital evidence before blocking the person.
Yes. When you file the breach complaint, you can ask the Magistrate to add conditions to the protection order or to pass fresh directions, since the breach shows the earlier order was not enough.