The Calcutta High Court recently ruled that depriving a woman of her stridhan or any other economic or financial resources to which she is entitled constitutes domestic violence under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (PWDV) Act, 2005. Justice Subhendu Samanta observed, “The deprivation of petitioner to any economic or financial resources to which the aggrieved person is entitled under any law is also domestic violence. In this case, it is the fact that the petitioner was deprived of her stridhan articles for a long which were under the custody of the opposite parties. This fact is tantamount to Domestic Violence”. The single-judge bench was hearing a plea by a widow, Nandita Sarkar, seeking monetary relief, including compensation from her in-laws. Nandita filed the plea against the order and judgment of April 17, 2018, passed by the Trial Court, Howrah. She had sought relief under the PWDV Act before the Magistrate Court, Howrah, wherein the court had awarded her monetary relief, including compensation and other reliefs vide order dated July 31, 2015. However, the …