Protection Order Breached? Section 31 DV Act Complaint 2026

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.

A protection order is passed under Section 18 of the Act. It typically stops the respondent from:

• committing any further act of domestic violence;
• entering your workplace, or if you are a child, your school;
• trying to communicate with you in any form;
• being alone with you or attempting to meet you;
• committing violence against your relatives who helped you.

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:

• Same Magistrate tries it. Under Section 31(2), the case is tried, as far as practicable, by the Magistrate who passed the order that was broken. That Magistrate already knows your file.
• Cognizable and non-bailable. Under Section 32, the offence is cognizable and non-bailable, so the police can act on the complaint and arrest without first getting a warrant, and bail is not automatic.

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.

1. Record the breach. Note the date, time, place, and what happened. Save call logs, messages, CCTV, or witness names. Evidence decides these cases.
2. Inform the Protection Officer. The Protection Officer assigned to your case must record the breach and can move the Magistrate. Their duty flows from Section 9 of the Act.
3. File a police complaint. Because the offence is cognizable, the police can register a First Information Report. Give them a copy of the protection order.
4. File a breach application before the Magistrate. Go to the same court that passed the order. Attach the order, your evidence, and the Protection Officer or police record. Ask for the respondent to be punished under Section 31.
5. Ask for stronger orders. At the same time you can ask the Magistrate to tighten the protection order or add conditions, given the breach.

• Certified copy of the protection order or interim protection order.
• Your identity proof and address proof.
• Proof of the breach: messages, photos, call records, medical papers, or witness statements.
• The Domestic Incident Report, if one was filed earlier.
• Any earlier police complaints or Protection Officer records.

• Only calling the police, then stopping. An FIR helps, but the breach complaint before the Magistrate under Section 31 is what leads to punishment. Do both.
• Not keeping the order handy. Officials act faster when you show the actual order. Keep certified copies and soft copies.
• Deleting the abuser's messages. Those messages are your evidence. Back them up before blocking the number.
• Assuming a single warning is enough. Each fresh breach is a fresh offence. Report every one.

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.

• Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, Sections 18, 31 and 32, indiacode.nic.in
• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Section 85 (cruelty by husband or relatives), which replaced Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code
• National Commission for Women helpline and Protection Officer framework under Section 9 of the Act

• How to file a domestic violence complaint in India
• Permanent alimony under Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act
• Stuck case status? File an RTI to the police or Protection Officer
• The RTI Playbook for pushing an unresponsive department with information rights.