Ludhiana,Amritsar to be first in state to get family courts

Each court will have a team of three counsellors,who will be chosen from a panel of counsellors prepared by the judge of the family court and approved by the High Court,for a maximum period of three years.

“The counsellor may visit the residences of the parties involved in the cases. He will interview relatives,friends of the parties to reconcile the disputes,” Advocate General of Punjab H S Mattewal told The Indian Express.

The government will start with Ludhiana and Amritsar,and will gradually establish such courts across the state,he added.

Last week,at a conference of jurists, Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan had emphasised the need of setting up family courts in all districts of Punjab and Haryana.

What is a family court?

A family court is one which — as the name suggests— deals exclusively with family disputes. The basic concept behind setting up of family courts is speedy settlement of disputes which otherwise remain pending for years due to heavy backlog of other cases. The Punjab government has adopted the Act defining the concept of family courts — The Family Courts Act,1984. A person to be appointed as judge for family courts needs to have at least seven years of service as a judicial officer or has to have practised as an advocate in a high court for seven years.

Once established,all family disputes pending in a district court falling in its jurisdiction will automatically will be immediately transferred to the family court concerned. Parties will not have to make special representations to the district court for transferring their cases to family courts.

Cases to be heard

* Of parties seeking directions to annul a marriage or restitution of conjugal rights or judicial separation or dissolution of marriage

* Suit for a declaration as to the validity of a marriage or as to the matrimonial status of any person

* Property dispute between a husband and wife.

* Any direction or interim order sought in case of a matrimonial dispute

* To decide the issue of legitimacy of a marriage

* A suit or proceeding for maintenance

* Disputes pertaining to child custody between mother and father

Lawyers can’t appear

The Family Courts Act,makes it clear that an aggrieved party shall not be entitled to represented by a lawyer in the family court. Only in special circumstances,when the court considers it necessary,the party may seek assistance of a legal expert as an amicus curiae.