Streamline functioning of family courts, say lawyers

The litigant’s plights will be lessened once the functioning of the family courts is streamlined, says leading lawyers appearing before the family courts regularly.

Activist lawyer Sudha Ramalingam and V. Nalini, president of Women Lawyers’ Association,  have several suggestions to improve the administration and the proceedings before the family courts in Chennai.

“As far as the family courts are concerned, the need of the hour is to streamline the functioning. Once the functioning is streamlined, the litigants’ plight will be lessened”, they added.

They said any litigation starts with the filing. As far as the family courts were concerned, the petitioner was made to come as a party in person to file their petitions with the family courts in Chennai. The family courts in Coimbatore allow filing by counsels’ of the petitioners. After the notification of section 30 of the Advocates Act, permitting advocates to routinely file Vakalat, petitions and other connected matters in the family courts will reduce the crowd on the court premises. It will also ensure that the litigant was not troubled with frequent visits to the court.  Presenting/filing mutual consent petitions by parties in person could also be avoided. At the time of filing mutual consent petitions, valuable time of the court was being spent to file it before the judge, who then enquires the parties and then there was a procedure called check and call and numbering follows that stage. The registry/office could receive the petition and number the same and post it for hearing after six months as was done by the sub-courts thus far. At the time of final hearing, the judge could interact with the parties and ensure that the consent was voluntary and grant the mutual consent decree with subjective satisfaction, they added.

They said each family court should have a separate interlocutory/miscellaneous applications/petitions register. The present system of having one IA register for all the family courts was adding to the delay in numbering and posting of IAs. Long adjournments should be avoided in interim applications and final orders to be passed expeditiously. The parties are sent to counselling once both parties appear after receipt of summons. This stage could also be managed by the officer who handles the summons stage. Each day, valuable time of the court was being wasted just for the court to call the parties and instructing them to go to the counsellor. An appropriate number of qualified counsellors have to be recruited and permanently attached to the respective court, they added.

They said all trials must  be taken up after lunch and in camera. Maintenance/domestic violence issues to be decided giving priority. Child custody matters must be dealt with sensitively if necessary with the assistance of expert counsellors. Cases more than 3 years old to be heard on a day to day basis and all courts to ensure cases were not pending for more than 3 years. Maintenance petitions and domestic violence petitions need special speedy/summary disposal. One or two family courts may be set apart exclusively for dealing with cases relating to maintenance and the domestic violence petitions as these need immediate disposals. Further, by and large, it was the weaker/poorer sections of women and children who knock the doors of the court. “In the regular family courts, we find that the creamy layer takes more time and attention to itself at the cost of the poor victims who use these provisions”, they added.