The Family Courts Act, 1984 — KSLU Family Law 2 Notes

The Family Courts Act, 1984

By the 1970s matrimonial disputes were clogging ordinary courts and being tried in an adversarial spirit ill-suited to families. The Family Courts Act, 1984 created specialised, conciliation-first courts.

flowchart TD
    ROOT["Family Courts Act, 1984"]:::root
    ROOT --> OBJ["Object: Conciliation +<br/>speedy settlement of<br/>family disputes"]:::obj
    ROOT --> JURIS["Jurisdiction (Section 7)"]:::branch
    ROOT --> PROC["Special Procedure"]:::branch
    JURIS --> J1["Matrimonial causes<br/>(divorce, nullity,<br/>judicial separation)"]:::juris
    JURIS --> J2["Maintenance &<br/>alimony"]:::juris
    JURIS --> J3["Child custody &<br/>guardianship"]:::juris
    JURIS --> J4["Matrimonial property"]:::juris
    PROC --> P1["Promote settlement first"]:::proc
    PROC --> P2["In-camera proceedings"]:::proc
    PROC --> P3["Welfare officers &<br/>counsellors"]:::proc
    PROC --> P4["Advocate representation<br/>may be restricted (S.13)"]:::proc
    PROC --> P5["Appeals to High Court"]:::proc

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    classDef branch fill:#E6F3FF,stroke:#1E3A8A,color:#000;
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    classDef proc fill:#E6F3FF,stroke:#1E3A8A,color:#000;
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State governments must establish Family Courts in towns with a population over one million (S.3), with preference given to women judges and persons experienced in social work (S.4). Their Section 7 jurisdiction covers matrimonial causes, matrimonial property, maintenance, custody and guardianship. The procedure is deliberately non-technical: the court must attempt settlement first, may sit in camera, uses welfare officers and counsellors, may restrict the right to a lawyer (S.13), and its orders are appealable to the High Court — jurisdiction over these matters being exclusive (K. A. Abdul Jaleel v. T. A. Shahida, 2003; Savitri Pandey v. Prem Chandra Pandey, 2002).