NAGPUR: The Nagpur bench of Bombay HC ruled that a widow cannot be denied the right to reside in her matrimonial home, holding that such denial amounts to domestic violence under Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act. Justice Urmila JoshiPhalke dismissed an appeal filed by a Nagpur resident against lower court orders that allowed his younger brother’s widow to live in the family house. The judge reaffirmed that section 17 of the Act grants a statutory right of residence to every woman in a shared household, regardless of whether she had lived there continuously or not. The judge said denying the widow access to the property amounted to “economic abuse” under Domestic Violence Act.