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A direction was also issued to the SHO to submit the status report.

3. Being aggrieved from the direction issued by the learned Magistrate and the registration of the FIR, the petitioner has filed the present petition for quashing the FIR. It has been asserted that the petitioner married the complainant on 20th 2025:HHC:11017 January 2014. Differences arose between the parties, and the complainant filed a false case under section 12 of the DV Act. The learned Trial Court passed an order of payment of ₹10,000 as compensation, maintenance of ₹4000 per month as monetary relief, and accommodation. The complainant filed an application before the learned Trial Court, asserting that the petitioner had not complied with the order passed by it. The learned Trial Court sent the application to the police with a direction to register the FIR under Section 31 of the DV Act. Maintenance, compensation, and residence orders do not fall within the definition of a protection order, and only the violation of a protection order is punishable under Section 31 of the DV Act. Hence, it was prayed that the present petition be allowed and the FIR be quashed.

5. I have heard M/s Aparajita, and Mr Ajay Thakur, learned counsel for the petitioner, and Mr Prashant Sen, Deputy Advocate General for respondents 1 to 3/State

6. Ms Aparajita learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the learned Magistrate erred in sending the application to the police for the registration of the FIR, the violation of the monetary order does not constitute an offence punishable under Section 31 of the DV Act and only a protection order can be punished under section 31 of the DV Act; therefore, she prayed that the present petition be allowed and the FIR be ordered to be quashed. She relied upon the judgments of C.D. Ravindernath and Ors. vs. Srilatha and Ors. (28.04.2023 - TLHC):

10. It is apparent from the bare perusal of the Section that it penalises the breach of a protection order or an interim protection order. The term protection order is defined in section 2

(o) of the DV Act as under:

2. Definitions. --In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires--

(o) "protection order" means an order made in terms of Section 18;

11. Section 18 of the DV Act provides the protection orders that can be passed by a Magistrate. It reads as under:

16. In the present case, the monetary relief which is separately provided in Section 2 (k) of the DV Act cannot be added to the protection order separately provided in Sections 2 (o) and 18 of the DV Act by plain meaning.

17. Kerala High Court held in Suneesh v. State of Kerala, 2022 SCC OnLine Ker 6210, that Section 31 applies to the breach of the protection orders mentioned in Section 18 of the DV Act and not to any other orders. It was observed:

2025:HHC:11017 "11. A plain reading of Section 31 would go to show that a breach of a protection order or interim protection order by the respondent shall be an offence under this Act and is punishable. Section 18 deals with protection orders categorised as (a) to (g) referred to in Section 18 herein above extracted. Section 19 deals with residence orders and Section 20 deals with monetary reliefs and Section 20(d) authorises a Magistrate to grant maintenance for the aggrieved person as well as her children, if any, including an order under or in addition to an order of maintenance under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (2 of 1974) or any other law for the time being in force. Thus, it could be noticed that while incorporating provisions under Section 31 to impose a penalty on violation of breach of 'protection order', the legislature never intended to impose a penalty for violation of 'residence orders' or 'monetary reliefs'. Based on this principle, this Court in Velayudhan Nair v. Karthiayani's case (supra) held that Section 31of the D.V Act would apply only on violation of the interim order or final protection order passed under Section 18 of the D.V Act and it was held further that in case of violation of any order passed other than an order passed under Section 18 of the D.V Act, the provisions of the Cr.