India, Jan. 10 -- The Bombay High Court on Friday ruled that a woman who knowingly enters into a relationship with a married man is not entitled to relief under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (DV) Act, 2005.

A single-judge bench of justice Manjusha Deshpande said that such a relationship does not qualify as a "relationship in the nature of marriage". Granting maintenance or monetary relief in such cases, the court said, would adversely affect the legally wedded wife and children of the man.

The woman, an engineer, claimed that she was in a relationship with her married college professor, who allegedly forced her into sexual relations from 2001. She further stated that they "got married" in 2005, while the professor's fir...