New Delhi, July 12 - Gaurav Sharma has just lost his house to his estranged wife, and he is not the only man ordered by the court to surrender his home as courts seek to crack down on domestic violence.

Life took an ugly turn for Sharma when a Delhi court asked him to vacate his newly bought house in Gurgaon near Delhi and hand over possession to a wife who had left him three years after marriage.

The dramatic development took place after his wife slapped a case of domestic violence. Sharma pleaded with the court to be lenient but was forced to move to a rented accommodation.

The Domestic Violence Act of 2006 seeks to provide protection and compensation for all kinds of abuse at home directed at women -- including physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic.

Sharma, who works with an IT consultancy company, explained what he underwent: 'I was happily married to Sunita. But since she could not adjust with my parents, I bought a house on loan. However things did not work between us. She left the home on her own after five months to live with her parents in Delhi. I explored every option to bring her back but failed.'

His wife slapped a case of domestic violence and dowry harassment against him and his family.

'Within a month, a court directed me to vacate the house and give its possession to my wife,' Sharma said. At the same time he had to keep paying the loan instalments of Rs.40,000 a month.

On top of it, he pays the rent for the Dwarka house where he lives.