JUDGMENT Iqbal Ahmed Ansari, J. 1. This revision petition is directed against the judgment dated 30.9.2009, passed by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Tinsukia, in C.R. Case No. 154C/2007, directing the Petitioner herein to pay, as maintenance, Rs. 4,000, per month, to the Respondent herein and Rs. 1,000, per month, to the Respondent's minor child, w.e.f. the date of filing of the petition by the Respondent herein, under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 ('the Domestic Violence Act'), against her husband (i.e., the Petitioner herein). In effect, thus, the present revision petition puts to challenge maintenance order made under Section 18 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 ('the said Act') on the ground that the order has been made on the basis of an application made by an aggrieved person without obtaining any domestic incident report from the Protection Officer, though no maintenance order, it is contended, on behalf of the Petitioner, can be made, under Section 18 of the said Act, without obtaining the domestic incident report from a Protection Officer. 2. The moot question, therefore, which this revision raises is: Whether it is mandatory for a Magistrate to obtain a domestic incident report before the Magistrate passes an order under Section 18, (which relates to maintenance orders), Section 19, (which relates to residence orders), Section 20, (which relates to monetary reliefs) and/or Section 21, (which relates to custody orders) of the said Act? 3. My quest for an answer to the above question brings me, first, to the definition of 'aggrieved person' because without correctly understanding the meaning of the expression 'aggrieved person', it may not be possible to answer correctly the question posed in this application. 4. An 'aggrieved person', as defined by Section 2(a) of the said Act, means any woman, who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the Respondent and who alleges to have been subjected to any act of domestic violence by the Respondent. 5. It is, now, necessary to note that the expression, 'Respondent', according to Section 2(q), means any adult male person, who is, or has been, in a demesne relationship with the aggrieved person and against whom the aggrieved person has sought any relief under this Act. 6. 5. It is, now, necessary to note that the expression, 'Respondent', according to Section 2(q), means any adult male person, who is, or has been, in a demesne relationship with the aggrieved person and against whom the aggrieved person has sought any relief under this Act. 6. Coupled with the above, domestic relationship, as Section 2(f) of the said Act defines, means a relationship between two persons, who live or have, at any point of time, lived together in a shared household, when they are related by consanguinity, marriage or through a relationship in the nature of marriage, adoption or are family members living together as a joint family. 7. It is also necessary to note that shared household, according to Section 2(s) of the Domestic Violence Act, means a household, where the person aggrieved lives or at any stage has lived in a domestic relationship either singly or along with the Respondent and includes such a household, whether owned or tenanted, either jointly by the aggrieved person and the Respondent, or owned or tenanted by either of them in respect of which either the aggrieved person or the Respondent or both jointly or singly have any right, title interest or equity and includes such a household, which may belong to the joint family of which the Respondent is a member, irrespective of whether the Respondent or the aggrieved person has any right, title or interest in the shared household. 8. So far as the expression 'domestic violence' is concerned, the same is defined by Section 3 to, broadly speaking, mean any act, omission, commission or conduct of the Respondent, which would harm, injure or endanger the health, safety, etc., of the aggrieved person. 9. An 'aggrieved person', therefore, means a woman, who is, or has been, in a relationship, which is in the nature of domestic relationship as defined in Section 2(f) of the said Act and who has been subjected to domestic violence by any act, omission, commission or conduct of the male person, the act, omission or commission or conduct being such as would harm, injure or endanger the health, safety, etc., of the aggrieved person. 10. A 'Protection Officer', as defined in Section 2(n), means an officer appointed by the State Government under Sub-section (1) of Section 8. The duties and functions of a Protection Officer stand summarized in Section 9. 11. 10. A 'Protection Officer', as defined in Section 2(n), means an officer appointed by the State Government under Sub-section (1) of Section 8. The duties and functions of a Protection Officer stand summarized in Section 9. 11. The duties and functions of a Protection Officer have to be understood in the light of the provisions of Section 4, which lays down that any person, who has reason to believe that an act of domestic violence has been, or is being, or is likely to be committed, may give information about it to the concerned Protection Officer. Section 5 clarifies that a police officer, Protection Officer, service provider or Magistrate, who receives a complaint of domestic violence, shall inform the aggrieved person of, amongst others, her right to make an application for obtaining a relief by way of a maintenance order, an order for monetary relief, a custody order, a residence order, a compensation order or more than one such order as are provided under the said Act. 12. Closely following the provisions so embodied in Sections 4 and 5, Clause (c) of Sub-section (1) of Section 9 lays down that it is the duty of the Protection Officer to make an application, in such form or in such manner as may be prescribed, to the Magistrate if the aggrieved person, so desires, claiming relief for issuance of a maintenance order. Thus, not only that it is the duty of a Protection Officer to inform an aggrieved person of her right to make an application for obtaining a relief by way of a maintenance order, etc., but also his duty, if so desired, by the aggrieved person, to help her make an application in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed. Section 9(d) also casts a duty on the Protection Officer to ensure that the aggrieved person is provided legal aid under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, and it is, in this regard, his further duty to make available, free of cost, the prescribed Form II in which a complaint is required to be made by an aggrieved person. 13. Bearing in mind what is indicated above, let me, now, come to Section 12, the interpretation whereof is subject of controversy in this application. Section 12 reads as under: 17. Application to Magistrate. 13. Bearing in mind what is indicated above, let me, now, come to Section 12, the interpretation whereof is subject of controversy in this application. Section 12 reads as under: 17. Application to Magistrate. - An aggrieved person or a Protection Officer or any other person on behalf of the aggrieved person may present an application to the Magistrate seeking one or more reliefs under this Act: Provided that before passing any order on such application, the Magistrate shall take into consideration any domestic incident report received by him from the Protection Officer or the service provider. (2) The relief sought for under Sub-section (1) may include a relief for issuance of an order for payment of compensation or damages without prejudice to the right of such person to institute a suit for compensation or damages for the injuries caused by the acts of domestic violence committed by the Respondent: Provided that where a decree for any amount as compensation or damages has been passed by any court in favour of the aggrieved person, the amount, if any, paid or payable in pursuance of the order made by the Magistrate under this Act shall be set off against the amount payable under such decree and the decree shall, notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), or any other law for the time being in force, be executable for the balance amount, if any, left after such set off. (3) Every application under Sub-section (1) shall be in such form and contain such particulars as may be prescribed or as nearly as possible thereto. (4) The Magistrate shall fix the first date of hearing, which shall not ordinarily be beyond three days from the date of receipt of the application in the court. (5) The Magistrate shall endeavour to dispose of every application made under Sub-section (1) within a period of sixty days from the date of its first hearing. 14. (4) The Magistrate shall fix the first date of hearing, which shall not ordinarily be beyond three days from the date of receipt of the application in the court. (5) The Magistrate shall endeavour to dispose of every application made under Sub-section (1) within a period of sixty days from the date of its first hearing. 14. A bare reading of Sub-section (1) of Section 12 makes it clear that an application seeking any of the orders, which can be made under Sections 19, 20, 21 and 22, namely, maintenance order, residence order, monetary relief, custody order and/or compensation order, as the case may be, can be made to the Magistrate by not only an aggrieved person, but also by a Protection Officer or by any person on behalf of the aggrieved person. In short, an application seeking maintenance order under Section 18 can be made to a Magistrate by not only an aggrieved person, but also by a Protection Officer or by any person on behalf of the aggrieved person. 15. There is, thus, no bar, on the part of an aggrieved person, to directly make an application, under Section 12, seeking a maintenance order under Section 18. The duties and functions of a Protection Officer, as already indicated above, include helping any aggrieved person, if the aggrieved person so desires, in making an application, under Section 12, to the Magistrate and to ensure that the aggrieved person is provided legal aid. The Protection Officer, thus, comes into picture if the aggrieved person so desires. 16. If, therefore, an aggrieved person is herself instructed in law, there is no impediment in her directly making an application, under Section 12, without going to a Protection Officer. Such an application, by an aggrieved person, may, in a given case, be in addition to the domestic incident report, which is submitted to a Magistrate by a Protection Officer, the domestic incident report being, in terms of Section 2(e), a report made in the prescribed report on receipt of domestic violence from an aggrieved person. 17. Thus, a domestic incident report comes into picture, when an aggrieved person or any other person makes a complaint of domestic violence to the Protection Officer and not otherwise. When an aggrieved person makes a complaint of domestic violence to a Protection Officer, a domestic incident report may come into existence. 17. Thus, a domestic incident report comes into picture, when an aggrieved person or any other person makes a complaint of domestic violence to the Protection Officer and not otherwise. When an aggrieved person makes a complaint of domestic violence to a Protection Officer, a domestic incident report may come into existence. Even after making such a complaint, an aggrieved person is free to make, on her own, and without going to a Protection Officer, an application, under Section 12, to the Magistrate seeking a maintenance order in terms of Section 18 and in such a case, there may come in existence, besides an application made by the aggrieved person, a domestic incident report. 18. Thus, the scheme of the Domestic Violence Act clearly envisages such a possibility, where a Magistrate may receive, besides an application made by an aggrieved person, seeking a maintenance order, a domestic incident report too, which may come into existence as a result of a complaint made by an aggrieved person, or by any other person on behalf of the aggrieved person, to the Protection Officer. The said Act does not, however, exclude the possibility of an aggrieved person directly making an application, under Section 12, to the Magistrate seeking a maintenance order in terms of Section 18. 19. What may also be noted, now, is that the proviso to Sub-section (1) of Section 12 makes it abundantly clear that before passing any order on an application made under Section 12, the Magistrate shall take into consideration any domestic incident report, which may have been received by him from the Protection Officer or the service provider. In the scheme of the said Act, there is apparently nothing, which prohibits or inhibits an aggrieved person from making an application, under Section 12, directly to the Magistrate seeking a maintenance order. On the ground that there is no domestic incident report from the Protection Officer, the Magistrate cannot refuse to make a maintenance order, when the aggrieved person makes an application, under Section 12, seeking maintenance order and the circumstances of the case so require. The proviso to Sub-section (1) of Section 12 does not insist upon the Magistrate to obtain a domestic incident report. The proviso to Sub-section (1) of Section 12 does not insist upon the Magistrate to obtain a domestic incident report. The proviso to Sub-section (1) of Section 12 only postulates a possibility, where a domestic incident report may have come into existence on a complaint made by the woman to the Protection Officer or service provider, as the case may be, and such a report, if in existence, is required to be considered by the Magistrate besides other materials on record, such as, the application made under Section 12 provided that the domestic incident report exists. 20. Referring to Rule 6 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Rules, 2006 ('the said Rules'), Mr. Banerjee, learned Counsel, appealing on behalf of the Petitioner, contends that Rule 6 requires that an application to be made by an aggrieved person, under Section 12, shall be in Form II and Form II, according to Mr. Banerjee, shows that the application has to be filed along with a copy of the domestic incident report. For the purpose of appreciating the correctness of the above submissions, made by Mr. Banerjee, learned Counsel, one must take note of the contents of Form II. Form II is, therefore, reproduced below: "FORM II [See Rule 6(1)] APPLICATION TO THE MAGISTRATE UNDER SECTION (12) OF THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT, 2005 To The Court of Magistrate Application under Section.... of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (43 of 2005) SHOWETH: 1. That the application under Section....of Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 is being filed along with a copy of Domestic Incident Report by the: (a) Aggrieved person (b) Protection Officer (c) Any other person on behalf of the aggrieved person (tick whichever is applicable) 2. That the application under Section....of Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 is being filed along with a copy of Domestic Incident Report by the: (a) Aggrieved person (b) Protection Officer (c) Any other person on behalf of the aggrieved person (tick whichever is applicable) 2. It is prayed that the hon'ble Court may take cognizance of the complaint, Domestic Incident Report and pass all/any of the orders, as deemed necessary in the circumstances of the case (a) Pass maintenance orders under Section 18 and/or (b) Pass residence orders under Section 19 and/or (c) Direct the Respondent to pay monetary relief under Section 20 and/or (d) Pass orders under Section 21 of the Act and/or (e) Direct the Respondent to grant compensation or damages under Section 22 and/or (f) Pass such interim orders as the court deems just and proper (g) Pass any orders as deems fit in the circumstances of the case. 3. Orders required: (i) Maintenance order under Section 18 • Prohibiting acts of domestic violence by granting an injunction against the Respondents/s from repeating any of the acts mentioned in terms of Column 4(a)/(b)/(c)/(d)/(e)/(f)/(g) of the application • Prohibiting Respondents(s) from entering the school/college/workplace • Prohibiting from stopping you from going to your place of employment • Prohibiting Respondent(s) from entering the school/college/any other place of your children • Prohibiting from stopping you from going to your school • Prohibiting any form of communication by the Respondent with you • Prohibiting alienation of assets by the Respondent • Prohibiting operation of joint bank lockers/accounts by the Respondent and allowing the aggrieved person to operate the same • Directing the Respondent to stay away from the dependants/relatives/any other person of the aggrieved person to prohibit violence against them • Any other order, please specify:.... (ii) Residence order under Section 19 • An order restraining Respondents(s) from • Dispossessing or throwing me out from the shared household • Entering that portion of the shared household in which I reside • Alienating/disposing/encumbering the shared household • Renouncing his rights in the shared household • An order entitling me continued access to my personal effects • An order directing Respondents(s) to • Remove himself from the shared household • Secure same level of alternate accommodation or pay rent for the same • Any other order, please specify:.... (iii) Monetary reliefs under Section 20 • Loss of earnings, Amount claimed:.... (iii) Monetary reliefs under Section 20 • Loss of earnings, Amount claimed:.... • Medical expenses, Amount claimed:.... • Loss due to destruction/damage or removal or property from the control of the aggrieved person, Amount claimed:.... • Any other loss or physical or mental injury as specified in Clause 10(d), Amount claimed:.... • Total amount claimed:.... • Any other order, please specify:.... (iv) Monetary reliefs under Section 20 • Directing the Respondent to pay the following expenses as monetary relief: • Food, clothes, medications and other basic necessities Amount.... per month • School fees and related expenses Amount.... per month • Household expenses: Amount.... per month • Any other expenses Amount.... per month • Any other order, please specify:.... (v) Custody Order under Section 21 Direct the Respondent to handover the custody of the child or children to the • Aggrieved person • Any other person on her behalf, details of such person (vi) Compensation order under Section 22 (vii) Any other order, please specify:.... 4. Details of previous litigation, if any (a) O Under the Indian 'Penal Code, Sections.... Pending in the court of.... O Disposed of, details of relief:.... (b) O Under Code of Criminal Procedure Sections.... Pending in the court of.... O Disposed of, details of relief:.... (c) O Under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1956, Sections.... pending in the court of.... O Disposed of, details of relief:.... (d) O Under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, Sections....pending in the court of.... O Disposed of, details of relief:.... (e) O Application of Maintenance, under Section....under ... Act Interim maintenance Rs. :....p.m. Maintenance granted Rs. :....p.m. (f) O Whether Respondent was sent to judicial custody O For less than a week O For less than a month O For more than a month Specify period:.... Prayer: It is, therefore, most respectfully prayed that this hon'ble court be pleased to grant the reliefs) claimed therein and pass such order or orders or other order as this hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper under the given facts and circumstances of the case for protecting the aggrieved person from domestic violence and in the interest of justice. Place: Complainant/Aggrieved Person Dated: Through Counsel VERIFICATION Verified at....(place) on this day of....that the contents of paras 1 to 12 of the above application are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and nothing material has been concealed there from. Place: Complainant/Aggrieved Person Dated: Through Counsel VERIFICATION Verified at....(place) on this day of....that the contents of paras 1 to 12 of the above application are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and nothing material has been concealed there from. Deponent Countersignature of Protection Officer with date. 21. From a bare reading of Form II, it becomes transparent that Rule 6 does not insist on making of an application by an aggrieved person in any inflexible form inasmuch as the expression used is 'shall be in Form II or as nearly as possible thereto'. The expression 'as nearly as possible thereto' visualizes a situation, where an application shall be, to the extent possible, in terms of Form II. For instance, Part-I of the Form shows that an application, under Section 12, has to be filed along with a copy of the domestic incident report by the aggrieved person to the Protection Officer or any other person on behalf of the aggrieved person. Part-I also shows that the application has to be accompanied by a copy of the domestic violence report. If, however, the domestic violence report is not submitted along with the application made under Section 12, it cannot be said that the application is not in Form II. Form II merely prescribes the format of making an application and it visualizes several options. There is no provision in the said Act or the said Rules to show that unless an application, made by an aggrieved person seeking a maintenance order, is accompanied by a copy of the domestic incident report, the application is not maintainable. In fact, sub-rule (2) of Rule 6 makes it clear that an aggrieved person may seek assistance of a Protection Officer in preparing her application under Sub-rule (1) and forwarding the same to the concerned Magistrate. Consequently, it is possible, in a given case, for an aggrieved person, not to seek any assistance from the Protection Officer for preparing an application under Sub-rule (1) and in forwarding the same to the concerned Magistrate. This apart, Section 8 makes it clear, as already indicated above, that it is the duty of the Protection Officer to assist the aggrieved person in making a complaint under the said Act if the aggrieved person so desires. This apart, Section 8 makes it clear, as already indicated above, that it is the duty of the Protection Officer to assist the aggrieved person in making a complaint under the said Act if the aggrieved person so desires. Thus, a Protection Officer helps an aggrieved person in making complaint under the said Act provided that the aggrieved person so desires. It is, of course, the duty of the Protection Officer to inform an aggrieved person of the rights, which she has under the said Act. In short, the scheme of the said Act brings into fore a Protection Officer, if the aggrieved person so desires or a complaint is received by a Protection Officer from any other person on behalf of the aggrieved person. If an aggrieved person does not seek or does not desire to have assistance of a Protection Officer, the Protection Officer cannot insist upon the aggrieved person to obtain his assistance. 22. From what have been indicated above, it becomes clear that there is no impediment in law, on the part of an aggrieved person, to directly make an application to a Magistrate under Section 12 and if such an application is made, it need not necessarily be accompanied by a copy of the domestic incident report. If the filing of a domestic incident report along with an application, under Section 12, is treated to be mandatory, the result would be that an aggrieved person, howsoever may be well instructed in law, would not be able to make an application without approaching the Protection Officer. Such an embargo, if imposed on the aggrieved person, would defeat the scheme of the said Act inasmuch as the scheme aims at making it easier for an aggrieved person to obtain necessary relief of maintenance order and other reliefs and not harassing her by making her to go from one person to another person, be such a person a Protection Officer or any other person under said Act. I, therefore, find it impossible to agree with Mr. Banerjee's contention that an order, under Section 12, can be made by a Magistrate only when an application is accompanied by a domestic incident report or when such a report is not available, the Magistrate must obtain the domestic incident report before passing an order under Section 12. 23. Mr. I, therefore, find it impossible to agree with Mr. Banerjee's contention that an order, under Section 12, can be made by a Magistrate only when an application is accompanied by a domestic incident report or when such a report is not available, the Magistrate must obtain the domestic incident report before passing an order under Section 12. 23. Mr. Banerjee has referred to Nand Kishor Damodar Vinchurkar v. Kabita Nand Kishor Vinchurkar and Another 2009 (3) Bom. CR 280, which lays down that while it is possible to make an interim order for maintenance without obtaining a report from a Protection Officer, a final order cannot be passed without obtaining such a report. It may be noted in this regard that no interim order can be passed by a court, which the court is, otherwise, not empowered, ultimately, to pass. If, therefore, a Magistrate is not empowered to make a final order without obtaining a report from the Protection Officer, the question of his making an order for interim relief without obtaining such a report cannot arise. With great respect, therefore, I find it difficult to agree with the views expressed, in Nand Kishor Damodar Vinchurkar's case (supra), that an interim order for maintenance can be passed without obtaining domestic incident report from a Protection Officer but not a final order. 24. On the other hand, I notice that in the decision, in Milan Kumar Singh and Anr. v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Another 2007 Cri. LJ 4742 (All), which too Mr. Banerjee has referred to, the court has taken a view contrary to what has been taken in Nand Kishor Damodar Vinchurkar's case (supra). It has been pointed out, in Milan Kumar Singh's case (supra), the words 'as nearly as possible thereto', appearing in Section 12(3) and also in Rule 6, conveys the legislative intent clearly, the intent being that a complaint cannot be rejected for not filing it in the prescribed form. I am wholly in agreement with the view so expressed, particularly, because not only Section 12, but also Rule 6 make it clear, by using the expression, 'as nearly as possible thereto', that a complaint can be made 'as nearly as possible' in terms of Form II but it is not necessary that Form II is complied in letter and spirit in order to make it sustainable. It has also been pointed out, in Milan Kumar Singh's case (supra), that the said Act is a social legislation and the purpose of the said Act is not to create hurdle in the way of an aggrieved person in filing a complaint; rather, the form has been prescribed in the rules merely to facilitate filing of complaint so that it may contain all necessary particulars for decision of the case. The form, which Rule 6 prescribes, is nothing more than a form, which facilitates filing of a complaint incorporating all relevant information, which, according to the Legislature is necessary for effective disposal of an application seeking protection or other orders, but the Legislature was also aware of the fact that the appliance of the form, in letter and spirit, may deny the effective remedy to an aggrieved person and it is for this reason that Section 12, which is the parent legislation, as well as Rule 6, which is the subordinate legislation, uses the expression as nearly 'as nearly as possible thereto'. 25. It has also been pointed out in Milan Kumar Singh's case (supra), which I substantially agree with, that an aggrieved person can file a complaint directly to the Magistrate concerned, but she has a choice of approaching the Protection Officer before going to the Magistrate and the word 'or', which appears in Section 12, provides a choice to the aggrieved person to approach a Magistrate directly or go to a Protection Officer. There is, therefore, no illegality in an aggrieved person directly approaching a Magistrate and it is for the Magistrate to take help of the Protection Officer, when he receives a complaint from an aggrieved person provided that the Magistrate feels it necessary to obtain a domestic incident report for the purpose of final disposal of the dispute between the parties concerned. If the parties concerned or the Magistrate takes help of the Protection Officer, the Protection Officer would be required to submit a domestic incident report to the Magistrate concerned. 26. If the parties concerned or the Magistrate takes help of the Protection Officer, the Protection Officer would be required to submit a domestic incident report to the Magistrate concerned. 26. The question as to whether a Magistrate can pass an order, under Section 12, without a domestic incident report having been received from a Protection Officer can be well answered by referring to Section 9(1)(b) inasmuch as Section 9(1)(b) makes it clear that it is the duty of the Protection Officer to make a domestic incident report to the Magistrate upon receipt of a complaint of domestic violence and forward copies thereof to the police officer in-charge of the police station within the local limits of whose jurisdiction domestic violence is alleged to have been committed and to the service providers in that area. This shows that a domestic incident report comes into existence only when a complaint of domestic violence is received by a Protection Officer. If no complaint of domestic violence is received by a Protection Officer, the question of his submitting a domestic incident report does not arise. Since the scheme of the said Act, nowhere, imposes an obligation on an aggrieved person to necessarily approach a Protection Officer before making application to a Magistrate for a maintenance order, it cannot be read into the scheme of the said Act that an application by an aggrieved person must necessarily be accompanied by a domestic incident report. The said Act makes it clear that an aggrieved person can directly make an application to a Jurisdictional Magistrate if she is subjected to domestic violence. The said Act, nowhere, obliges an aggrieved person to, first, make a complaint to a Protection Officer and, then, approach the Magistrate concerned. Section 12 takes care of a situation, if a situation so arises, where a Magistrate has before him, apart from an application, made by an aggrieved person, a domestic incident report. This does not mean that the absence of a domestic incident report denudes the Magistrate of his power to make a maintenance order. 27. Because of what have been discussed-and pointed out above, I find no merit in this revision. This revision, therefore, fails and the same shall accordingly stand dismissed. Petition dismissed.