A battered wife in Tamil Nadu had her husband arrested for abuse on Saturday, testing a new law aimed at protecting millions of women from domestic violence.

The act came into force on Oct. 26 and recognises all forms of abuse against women, including physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse, and offers added protection and compensation to victims.

Police said in the first case to be filed under the law, a 47-year-old drunk was arrested after he broke his wife?s nose with an umbrella because she refused to give him money for alcohol in the town of Tirunelveli, 600 km south of Chennai. The new law gives victims rights over their abuser?s assets as well as penalising offenders.

Activists said the law could help millions of women, many of whom accept abuse by husbands or male relatives as normal in India?s patriarchal society.