SHIJU JOY.A. Vs. NISHA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) We are, in this batch of original petitions, asked to resolve the difficulties caused to the litigants due to the inordinate delay in disposal of cases by the Family Courts in the State. These original petitions speak about the various hurdles faced by the parties in resolving their matrimonial disputes. The petitioners who are parties to different proceedings, have invoked the supervisory jurisdiction of this Court under Article 227 of the Constitution and sought for directions to the Family Courts to expeditiously dispose of pending proceedings. It was a routine practice in this Court to call for reports from the Family Courts and issue directions to dispose of proceedings in a time bound manner. This has caused perceived injustice to many, as those who approach this Court stand in advantageous position in getting their cases disposed of on a priority basis. The delay involved in disposal of cases before the Family Courts cannot be signified for a singular reason. The problems faced are multifaceted and are of different dimensions. Lack of infrastructure, docket explosion, untrained officers and staff, inept case management etc., are a few to list.

(2.) The Family Courts are conceived to deal with conflicts relating to marriage and family affairs with humane consideration. The procedure ordained under the enactment is to help the parties to resolve their disputes in a harmonious way in preference to adversarial litigation. Parties are not entitled, as of right, to be represented by a legal practitioner before the Family Courts. The lawyers, who are trained in adversarial litigation, do not want to shed their role as adversarial counsel in matrimonial disputes. The rules and procedures formulated for Family Courts are often forgotten in the process. The objects and reasons in establishing Family Courts, to deal with matrimonial disputes, with informal setting are to break the shackles of rigid rules and procedures followed in civil courts. Many of the Judges as well as lawyers are not really equipped to handle family disputes befitting to the standards required under law, which adds to the cause for the delay.

(3.) The parties who approach the Family Courts with their grievances, with a hope to get speedy justice, very soon realise that their problems burgeon, cases multiply, and their ordeal unabatedly continues due to the adversarial nature and circumstances surrounding the litigation.