Police arrested Joseph, an employee of the Tamil Nadu State Water Board in southern India, for allegedly beating and then attacking his wife, Benedict Mary, with a sharp-edged umbrella on October 25 after an argument over money, the Press Trust of India said.
Mary, a school teacher, suffered injuries to her nose and neck and was in hospital, the report quoted local administrator G. Umaganapathy Sastri as saying.
India's Domestic Violence Act 2005, which came into effect on Thursday, aims to protect women against physical, mental and verbal abuse by husbands and live-in partners.
Violators face up to a year in prison and a fine of 20,000 rupees (435 dollars).
According to the Indian government's National Crime Records Bureau, at least 58,400 women complained to police of cruelty by their husbands in 2004.
Rights activists have dismissed the legislation as a "half-hearted" attempt by the government to tackle the problem but lawyers backing the law say it will set a standard on fighting domestic abuse.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2006