Lok Sabha Question No. 487 (STARRED), answered on 2025-04-04
Subject: Family Courts
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Shri Selvam G, Shri C N Annadurai

## *487. Shri Selvam G: Shri CN Annadurai:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

(a) the number of family courts functioning in Tamil Nadu;

(b) whether the Government has any proposal to set up new family courts where these have not been established yet and if so, the details thereof and the timeline for implementation, district-wise in Tamil Nadu;

(c) whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  the  challenges  faced  by  family  courts  in  handling matrimonial and custody cases, if so, the details of such challenges including shortage of judges, infrastructure constraints and procedural delays;

(d) the  steps  taken/proposed  to  be  taken  to  strengthen  the  functioning  of  family  courts  in  the country;

(e) whether  the  Government  has  encouraged  the  use  of  Alternative  Dispute  Resolution  (ADR) mechanisms such as mediation and counseling in family courts, if so, the details of such initiatives and their success rate; and

(f) the plan of the Government to further integrate ADR mechanisms to reduce the burden on the courts?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS

## (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)

(a) to  (f ): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *487

## ANSWERED ON - 04/04/2025

## FAMILY COURTS

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (f) OF THE LOK  SABHA STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  *487  FOR  THE  04 th   APRIL,  2025  REGARDING  'FAMILY COURTS'

(a)  to  (d):  The  Family  Courts  Act,  1984  provides  for  establishment of family courts by the State Governments in consultation with their respective High Courts to promote conciliation and secure speedy  settlement  of  disputes  relating  to  marriage  and  family  affairs  and  for  matters  connected therewith.  Under  Section  3(1)  (a)  of  the  Family  Courts  Act,  it  is  mandatory  for  the  State Governments to set up a family court for every area in the State comprising a city or a town whose population exceeds one million. In other areas of the States, the family courts may also be set up if the  State  Governments deem it necessary. Timely disposal of cases in courts depends on several factors  which, inter-alia ,  include  availability  of  adequate  number  of  judges  and  judicial  officers, supporting court staff and physical infrastructure, complexity of facts involved, nature of evidence, co-operation  of  stake  holders  viz.  bar,  investigation  agencies,  witnesses  and  litigants  and  proper application of rules and procedures. The Central Government is fully committed to speedy disposal of cases in accordance with Article 21 of the Constitution and reducing pendency.

As per the information received from the High Courts, as on 28.02.2025, 914 Family Courts are  functional  across  the  country  including  40  Family  Courts  in  the  State  of  Tamil  Nadu.  The State/UT- wise number of functional Family Court, is at Annexure .

In  Family  Courts,  delays  in  proceedings  exacerbate  tensions  and  prolong  emotional  stress, hindering  timely  dispute  resolution.  Enforcing  decisions  on  child  custody,  visitation  rights,  and financial  support  remains  challenging  despite  court  rulings,  leading  to  continued  conflict  and frustration. Additionally, the requirement for travel to another city for court appearances imposes significant  logistical  and  financial  burdens,  especially  for  families  already  under  strain.  It  is  also important  to  note  that  counsellors  play  a  vital  role  in  providing  advice  and  guidance,  but  their effectiveness depends on proper training and capacity building. Improving  Family  Courts necessitates  providing  sufficient  infrastructure  and  specialized  judges  with  adequate  training. Sensitizing judges, court staff, and  stakeholders,  along  with gender  sensitivity training, is imperative  to  ensure  fair  treatment,  reduce  bias,  and  protect  the  rights  of  all  parties,  particularly women.  Considering  the  appointment  of  lady  judges  and  counsellors  could  further  enhance  the system's effectiveness. The Government has brought these issues to the attention of the States/High Courts  by  addressing  communications  at  the  level  of  Minister  of  Law  and  Justice  to  the  Chief Ministers of States/UTs and the Chief Justices of all High Courts.

As per Section 6 of the aforesaid Act, it is the responsibility of the State/UT Governments, in consultation  with  their  respective  High  Court,  to  determine  the  number  and  categories  of counsellors, officers, and other employees required to assist a Family Court in discharge of its functions and provide the Family Court with such counsellors, officers and other employees as it may think fit.

Further,  the  Government  has  taken  several  initiatives  to  provide  an  ecosystem  for  faster disposal of cases by the judiciary, as under:

i. The National Mission for Justice  Delivery and Legal Reforms was set up in August, 2011 with the twin objectives of increasing access by reducing delays and arrears in the system

and enhancing accountability through structural changes and by setting performance standards and capacities.  The Mission has been pursuing a coordinated approach for phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial administration, which, inter-alia, involves better infrastructure for courts including computerization, increase in sanctioned strength of District and  Subordinate  Courts,  policy  and  legislative  measures  in  the  areas  prone  to  excessive litigation  and  re-engineering of court procedure  for quick disposal of cases and emphasis on human resource development.

ii. Under  the  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  for  development  of  Judicial  Infrastructure, funds are being released to States/UTs for construction of court halls, residential quarters for judicial officers, lawyers' halls, toilet complexes and digital computer rooms that ease the life of various stakeholders including the litigants, thereby aiding justice delivery.  As  on 28.02.2025,  Rs.  11886.29  crores  have  been  released  since  the  inception  of  the  Centrally Sponsored  Scheme  (CSS)  for  Development  of  Infrastructure  Facilities  for  the  Judiciary  in 1993-94. The number of court halls has increased from 15,818 as on 30.06.2014 to 22,062 as on 28.02.2025 and the number of residential units has increased from 10,211 as on 30.06.2014 to 19,775 as on 28.02.2025, under this scheme.

iii. Further,  under  Phase  I  &  II  of  the  e-Courts  Mission  Mode  Project,  Information  and Communication  Technology  (ICT)  had  been  leveraged  for  IT  enablement  of  District  and Subordinate Courts. 18,735 District and Subordinate Courts were computerized till 2023. WAN connectivity has been provided to 99.5% of court complexes.  Video conferencing facility has been enabled between 3,240 court complexes and 1,272 corresponding jails. As on 28.02.2025, 1572 eSewa Kendras in District Courts and 39 eSewa Kendras in High Courts have been made functional  to  bridge  the  digital  divide  by  providing  citizen  centric  services  to  lawyers  and litigants.  28  virtual  courts  have  been  set  up  in  21  States/UTs.  As  on  28.02.2025,  these  courts have handled more than 6.95 crore cases and realized more than Rs. 736.11 crores in fines. The Cabinet, on 13.09.2023, has approved Phase-III of the eCourts Project at an outlay of Rs.7,210 crore. Taking the gains of Phase-I and Phase-II to the next level, the e-Courts Phase-III aims to usher in a regime of enhanced ease of justice by moving towards digital, online and paperless courts.  It  intends  to  incorporate  latest  technology  such  as  Artificial  Intelligence  (AI),  Block Chain,  etc.  to  make  justice  delivery  progressively  more  robust,  easy  and  accessible  to  all  the stakeholders.

iv. In pursuance of a Resolution passed in Chief Justices' Conference held in April, 2015, Arrears Committees have been set up in all 25 High Courts to clear cases pending for more than five years.  Arrears Committees have been set up under District Courts as well.

v. Under  the  aegis  of  the  Fourteenth  Finance  Commission,  the  Fast  Track  Courts  have been  established  for  dealing  with  cases  of  heinous  crimes,  cases  involving  senior  citizens, women, children, etc. As on 28.02.2025, 857 Fast Track Courts are functional across the country. To  fast-track  criminal  cases  involving  elected  MPs  /  MLAs,  ten  (10)  Special  Courts  are functional in nine (9) States/UTs. Further, the Central Government has approved a Scheme for setting up Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) across the country for the expeditious disposal of pending cases of Rape and POCSO Act. As on 28.02.2025, 745 FTSCs including 404 exclusive POCSO  (ePOCSO)  Courts  are  functional  in  30  States/UTs  across  the  country  which  have disposed of more than 3,13,000 cases.

vi. With a view to reduce pendency and unclogging of the courts, the Government has amended various  laws  like  The  Negotiable  Instruments  (Amendment)  Act,  2018,  The  Commercial  Courts (Amendment)  Act,  2018,  The  Specific  Relief  (Amendment)  Act,  2018,  The  Arbitration  and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2019 and The Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2018.

vii. Alternate Dispute Resolution methods have been promoted whole heartedly. Accordingly, The Commercial Courts Act, 2015 was amended in August, 2018 making Pre-institution Mediation and Settlement  (PIMS)  mandatory  in  case  of  commercial  disputes.  In  order  to  further  enhance  the efficiency of the PIMS mechanism, the Government, through The Mediation Act, 2023, has further amended the Commercial Court Act, 2015. Amendments to The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996  have  been  made  in  the  years  2015,  2019  &  2021  for  expediting  the  speedy  resolution  of disputes.

Under  The  Commercial  Courts  Act,  2015,  there  is  a  provision  for  case  management  hearing which provides for an efficient,  effective  and  purposeful judicial  management of a case so as to achieve a timely and qualitative resolution of a dispute. It assists in early identification of disputed issues  of  fact  and  law,  establishment  of  procedural  calendar  for  the  life  of  the  case  and  the exploration of possibilities of the resolution of the dispute.

Another novel feature introduced for the commercial courts is the system of color banding which limits the number of adjournments that can be granted in any commercial matter to three and alerts the judges about listing of the cases in accordance with their stage of pendency.

viii. Lok Adalat is an important Alternative Disputes Resolution Mechanism available to common people. It is a forum where the disputes/ cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation stage are  settled/  compromised  amicably.   Under  The  Legal  Services  Authorities  (LSA)  Act,  1987,  an award made by a Lok Adalat is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties  and  no  appeal  lies  against  thereto  before  any  court.  Lok  Adalat  is  not  a  permanent establishment. National Lok Adalats are organized simultaneously in all Taluks, Districts and High Courts on a pre-fixed date.

The details of the cases disposed of in National Lok Adalats during the last four years are as under: -

| Years   | Pre-litigation Cases   | Pending Cases   | Grand Total   |
|---------|------------------------|-----------------|---------------|
| 2021    | 72,06,294              | 55,81,743       | 1,27,88,037   |
| 2022    | 3,10,15,215            | 1,09,10,795     | 4,19,26,010   |
| 2023    | 7,10,32,980            | 1,43,09,237     | 8,53,42,217   |
| 2024    | 8,70,19,059            | 1,75,07,060     | 10,45,26,119  |
| TOTAL   | 19,62,73,548           | 4,83,08,835     | 24,45,82,383  |

ix. The Government launched the Tele-Law programme in 2017, which provides an effective and reliable e-interface platform connecting the needy and disadvantaged sections seeking legal advice and consultation with panel lawyers via video conferencing, telephone and chat facilities available at

the  Common  Service  Centres  (CSCs)  situated  in  Gram  Panchayats  and  through  Tele-Law  mobile App.

*Percentage-wise break-up of Tele - Law Data

| Category            | Cases Registered    | % Wise Break Up     | Advice Enabled      | %Wise Break Up      |
|---------------------|---------------------|---------------------|---------------------|---------------------|
| Gender Wise         | Gender Wise         | Gender Wise         | Gender Wise         | Gender Wise         |
| Female              | 43,50,146           | 39.53%              | 42,92,045           | 39.49%              |
| Male                | 66,55,274           | 60.47%              | 65,77,616           | 60.51%              |
| Caste Category Wise | Caste Category Wise | Caste Category Wise | Caste Category Wise | Caste Category Wise |
| General             | 25,94,779           | 23.58%              | 25,54,696           | 23.50%              |
| OBC                 | 34,67,629           | 31.51%              | 34,21,343           | 31.48%              |
| SC                  | 34,55,009           | 31.39%              | 34,19,433           | 31.46%              |
| ST                  | 14,88,003           | 13.52%              | 14,74,189           | 13.56%              |
| TOTAL               | 1,10,05,420         |                     | 1,08,69,661         |                     |

*Data as on 28.02.2025.

x. Efforts  have  been  made  to  institutionalize  pro  bono  culture  and  pro  bono  lawyering  in  the country.  A  technological  framework  has  been  put  in  place  where  advocates  volunteering  to  give their time and services for pro bono work can register as Pro Bono Advocates on Nyaya Bandhu (Android & iOS and Apps). Nyaya Bandhu Services are also available on UMANG Platform. Pro Bono Panel of advocates has been initiated in 23 High Courts at the State/UT level. Pro Bono Clubs have been started in 109 Law Schools to instill Pro Bono culture in budding lawyers.

(e) & (f): The Government is promoting alternate dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms including mediation  and  counseling  in  family  courts  to  facilitate  amicable  settlements  and  reduce  litigation burdens, as these mechanisms are less adversarial and are capable of providing a better substitute to the conventional methods of resolving disputes. The use of ADR mechanisms is also expected to reduce the burden on the judiciary and thereby enable timely justice dispensation to citizens of the country. The Government is further taking policy and legislative interventions, to strengthen these mechanisms and make them more efficacious and expeditious.

Section 9 of the Family Courts Act, 1984, mandates Family Courts to make efforts for settlement before proceeding with litigation, emphasizing the importance of mediation and conciliation in resolving family disputes.

***

The State/UT- wise details of number of functional Family Courts as on 28.02.2025

| S.No   | Name of the State/UTs              |   Number of Functional Family Courts |
|--------|------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
| 1      | Andhra Pradesh                     |                                   16 |
| 2      | Andaman &Nicobar island            |                                    1 |
| 3      | Arunachal Pradesh                  |                                    0 |
| 4      | Assam                              |                                    7 |
| 5      | Bihar                              |                                   39 |
| 6      | Chandigarh                         |                                    0 |
| 7      | Chhattisgarh                       |                                   27 |
| 8      | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu |                                    0 |
| 9      | Delhi                              |                                   30 |
| 10     | Goa                                |                                    0 |
| 11     | Gujarat                            |                                  108 |
| 12     | Haryana                            |                                   33 |
| 13     | Himachal Pradesh                   |                                    3 |
| 14     | Jammu &Kashmir                     |                                    4 |
| 15     | Jharkhand                          |                                   30 |
| 16     | Karnataka                          |                                   41 |
| 17     | Kerala                             |                                   37 |
| 18     | Ladakh                             |                                    2 |
| 19     | Lakshadweep                        |                                    0 |
| 20     | Madhya Pradesh                     |                                   64 |
| 21     | Maharashtra                        |                                   51 |
| 22     | Manipur                            |                                    4 |
| 23     | Meghalaya                          |                                    0 |
| 24     | Mizoram                            |                                    0 |
| 25     | Nagaland                           |                                    2 |
| 26     | Odisha                             |                                   30 |
| 27     | Puducherry                         |                                    2 |
| 28     | Punjab                             |                                   34 |
| 29     | Rajasthan                          |                                   50 |
| 30     | Sikkim                             |                                    6 |
| 31     | Tamil Nadu                         |                                   40 |
| 32     | Telangana                          |                                   22 |
| 33     | Tripura                            |                                    9 |
| 34     | Uttar Pradesh                      |                                  189 |
| 35     | Uttarakhand                        |                                   27 |
| 36     | West Bengal                        |                                    6 |
| TOTAL  |                                    |                                  914 |