Chief Justice Gita Mittal inaugurates Jammu & Kashmir's first Family Court in Srinagar

Jammu and Kashmir High Court's Chief Justice, Gita Mittal on Tuesday inaugurated the first Family Court in the Union Territory at Srinagar..The inauguration for setting up the Family Court at the District Court Complex, Srinagar was conducted via virtual mode in the presence of all High Court Judges, other Judicial officers, administrators, senior police officials and others..Speaking during the inaugural function, Chief Justice Gita Mittal observed that the objective of establishing a family court in Jammu & Kashmir is to ensure speedy justice and inexpensive relief in family law cases with minimal formalities..She spoke on the history of family courts across India, the enactment of the Family Courts Act 1984 and its subsequent enactment in Jammu & Kashmir after the promulgation of the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019.."In India, the concept of family courts was first articulated by the Durgabhai Deshmukh. She made a proposal to set up family courts to Jawahar Lal Nehru, when she returned to India from her tour to China in 1953", she said..She added, .“It was a long journey for J&K to establish a family court, but I am confident that we were capable to make the family court a success in this region.".Chief Justice Mittal spoke of how family courts deal with issues concerning domestic relationships, marriage, divorce, conjugal rights, guardianship, child custody, etc., which are decided in accordance with personal law..Family courts are free to unfold their own rules of procedure. They accentuate settling disputes by mediation and conciliation. This ensures that the matter is resolved by an agreement between both the parties, which reduces the chances of further disagreement, Chief Justice Mittal remarked..She emphasized on the urgency for establishing family courts in every district, adding that this process would be started as soon as resources and manpower are available..“We have already undertaken an exercise for which the committee is working on and is identifying space for the family court in Jammu and hopefully we will shortly establish a family court in Jammu also as well as in other districts,” she added..On the occasion, High Court judges, Justice Tashi Rabstan (also the Chairman of the Family Court Committee), Justices Sindhu Sharma and Justice Rajnesh Oswal (also members of the Family Court Committee) made addresses..Principal District and Sessions Judge, Srinagar, Abdul Rashid Malik presented the vote of thanks. He observed that the family court has been set up with an objective of tackling a heavy backlog of cases pertaining to family matters and to hear such cases in a congenial atmosphere, different from the intimidating ones at regular courts. .In India, the first family court was established in the State of Rajasthan in 1985. Presently, there are more than 450 family courts in India. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of family courts.