Lok Sabha Question No. 113 (STARRED), answered on 2024-02-09
Subject: Family Courts
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Haji Fazlur Rehman

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

## LOK SABHA

STARRED QUESTION NO. *113 ANSWERED ON - 09/02/2024

## FAMILY COURTS

## *113. SHRI HAJI FAZLUR REHMAN:

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

- (a) the number of Family Courts functioning in the country, State-wise;
- (b) the number of cases filed, settled and pending in these courts during the last three years, State-wise;
- (c)  whether  States  are  facing  problems  in  settlement  of  cases  registered  in  these courts;
- (d) if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the details of measures taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)

- (a) to (e ): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (e) OF THE LOK SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  *113  FOR  THE  09 th   FEBRUARY,  2024 REGARDING 'FAMILY COURTS'

(a) & (b): The details of family courts functioning at present in the country, State-wise and cases filed, settled and pending during the last three years are given at Annexure.

(c) to (e): 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.  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.

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  and  High Courts by sending communications at the level of Hon'ble Minister of Law and Justice to the Chief Ministers of States/UTs and the Chief Justices of all High Courts. The last such communication was sent on 15.07.2023.The Government has taken several initiatives to provide an ecosystem for faster disposal of cases by the judiciary. 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  co-ordinated  approach  for phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial administration, which, inter-alia , involves better infrastructure for courts including computerization, increase in strength of subordinate  judiciary,  policy  and  legislative  measures  in  the  areas  prone  to  excessive litigation, re-engineering of court procedures for quick disposal of cases and emphasis on human resource development. The Family Courts are also covered by the ambit of these initiatives. The major initiatives are given below:

## i. Improving infrastructure for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts :

A Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  (CSS)  for  Development  of  Infrastructure  Facilities  for Judiciary  was  launched  in  1993.  Under  this  Scheme,  the  number  of  court  halls  has increased from 15,818 as on 30.06.2014 to 21,524 as on 31.12.2023 and the number of residential units has increased from 10,211 as on 30.06.2014 to 18,951 as on 31.12.2023. Since  inception  of  the  Scheme,  an  amount  of  Rs.10567.00  has  been  released  till 06.02.2024. The Scheme has been extended till 2025-26 at a total cost of Rs.9,000 crore, including central share will be Rs.5,307 crore. Besides construction of Court Halls and Residential Units, it would also cover construction of Lawyers' halls, toilet complexes and digital computer rooms.

- ii. Leveraging  Information  and  Communication  Technology  (ICT)  for  improved justice delivery: The Central Government has been implementing the e-Courts Mission Mode  Project  throughout  the  country  for  information  and  communication  technology enablement of district  and  subordinate  courts.  The  number  of  computerized  District  & Subordinate  courts  has  increased  to  18,735  so  far.  Wide  Area  Network  (WAN) connectivity  has  been  provided  to  99.4%  of  court  complexes.  New  and  user-friendly version  of  Case  Information  Software  has  been  developed  and  deployed  at  all  the computerized District and Subordinate Courts. All stakeholders including judicial officers can access information relating to judicial proceedings/decisions of computerized District & Subordinate Courts and High Courts on the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG). As on 02.02.2024,  litigants  can  access  case  status  of  over  24.99  crore  cases  and  24.87  crore orders/judgments  pertaining  to  these  courts.  e-Courts  services  such  as  details  of  case registration,  cause  list,  case  status,  daily  orders  and  final  judgments  are  available  to litigants and advocates through e-Courts web portal, Judicial Service Centres (JSC) in all

computerized  courts,  e-Courts  Mobile  App,  email  service,  SMS  push  &  pull  services. Video Conferencing facility has been enabled between 3,240 court complexes and 1,272 corresponding jails.

With a view to handling the COVID-19 challenges better and to make the transition to virtual hearings smoother, 880 e-Sewa Kendras have been set up at court complexes to facilitate  lawyers  and  litigants  needing  assistance  ranging  from  case  status,  getting judgments/orders,  court/case  related  information  and  e-filing  facilities.  Rs.28.886crore has been allocated for providing equipment in video conferencing cabins in various court complexes to facilitate virtual hearings. Rs.12.12 crore has been allocated for 1,732 Help desk counters for e-filing in various court complexes. Video conferencing emerged as the mainstay of the courts during the Covid lockdown period as physical hearings and normal court proceedings in the congregational mode were not possible. Since Covid lockdown started, the District courts heard 2,17,99,976 cases while the High Court heard 82,76,595 cases (totalling more than 3 crore) using video conferencing till 31.12.2023.

- iii. Filling  up  of  vacant  positions  in  District  and  Subordinate  Courts: Sanctioned  and working strength of Judicial Officers in District and Subordinate Courts has increased as follow:
- iv. Reduction in Pendency through / follow up by Arrears Committees: In pursuance of Resolution passed in Chief Justices' Conference held in April, 2015, Arrears Committees have been set up in High Courts to clear cases pending for more than five years. Arrears Committees  have  been  set  up  under  District  Courts  too.  Arrears  Committee  has  been constituted in the Supreme Court to formulate steps to reduce pendency of cases in High Courts and District Courts. In the past, Minister of Law & Justice has taken up the matter with Chief Justices of High Courts and Chief Ministers drawing their attention to cases pending  for  more  than  five  years  and  to  take  up  pendency  reduction  campaign.  The Department  has  developed  an  online  portal  for  reporting  by  all  High  Courts  on  the compliance  of  Arrears  Eradication  Scheme  guidelines  of  the  Malimath  Committee Report.

| As on      | Sanctioned Strength   | Working Strength   |
|------------|-----------------------|--------------------|
| 31.12.2013 | 19,518                | 15,115             |
| 31.12.2023 | 25,348                | 20,018             |

## Annexure as referred to in Reply to Lok Sabha Starred Question No. *113 for 09.02.2024

## State/UT-wise details of functional courts and No. of Cases filed, Cases disposed and Cases pending during last three years

|       |                      | Functional   | Cases Filed   | Cases Filed   | Cases Filed   | Cases Disposed   | Cases Disposed   | Cases Disposed   | Cases Pending   | Cases Pending   | Cases Pending   |
|-------|----------------------|--------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|------------------|------------------|------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
| S.No  | State/Uts            | Court        | 2021          | 2022          | 2023          | 2021             | 2022             | 2023             | 2021            | 2022            | 2023            |
| 1     | Andhra Pradesh       | 15           | 5635          | 6877          | 8552          | 1632             | 4990             | 8090             | 10069           | 10447           | 13205           |
| 2     | Andaman Nicobar      | 1            | 0             | 0             | 262           | 0                | 0                | 307              | 0               | 0               | 799             |
| 3     | Arunachal Pradesh    | 0            | 0             | 0             | 0             | 0                | 0                | 0                | 0               | 0               | 0               |
| 4     | Assam                | 7            | 3935          | 6130          | 5758          | 4103             | 7450             | 4937             | 9356            | 7532            | 7158            |
| 5     | Bihar                | 39           | 19382         | 24085         | 22737         | 7795             | 22501            | 21445            | 69792           | 71376           | 72668           |
| 6     | Chandigarh           | 0            | 0             | 0             | 0             | 0                | 0                | 0                | 0               | 0               | 0               |
| 7     | Chhattisgarh         | 27           | 11525         | 15548         | 17550         | 9527             | 14995            | 16763            | 17779           | 18718           | 19505           |
| 8     | Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 0            | 0             | 0             | 0             | 0                | 0                | 0                | 0               | 0               | 0               |
| 9     | Delhi                | 30           | 21382         | 22664         | ***           | 30166            | 21014            | ***              | 48520           | ***             | ***             |
| 10    | Diu& Daman           | 0            | 0             | 0             | 0             | 0                | 0                | 0                | 0               | 0               | 0               |
| 11    | Goa                  | 0            | 0             | 0             | 0             | 0                | 0                | 0                | 0               | 0               | 0               |
| 12    | Gujarat              | 36           | 18508         | 24910         | 27194         | 22124            | 26557            | 30084            | 35335           | 34761           | 31954           |
| 13    | Haryana              | 28           | 33315         | 46271         | 49164         | 31589            | 48301            | 43652            | 65337           | 62231           | 64656           |
| 14    | Himachal Pradesh     | 3            | 2706          | 6275          | 4171          | 3096             | 5470             | 4160             | 5102            | 5924            | 6301            |
| 15    | Jammu& Kashmir       | 0            | 0             | 0             | 0             | 0                | 0                | 0                | 0               | 0               | 0               |
| 16    | Jharkhand            | 31           | 9380          | 13312         | 15782         | 5873             | 16670            | 16855            | 19371           | 15999           | 15306           |
| 17    | Karnataka            | 40           | 21684         | 28208         | 29391         | 22603            | 28259            | 30409            | 39458           | 39397           | 38407           |
| 18    | Kerala               | 35           | 50975         | 68111         | 84610         | 47146            | 68289            | 86250            | 114020          | 113756          | 112267          |
| 19    | Ladakh               | 0            | 0             | 0             | 0             | 0                | 0                | 0                | 0               | 0               | 0               |
| 20    | Lakshadweep          | 0            | 0             | 0             | 0             | 0                | 0                | 0                | 0               | 0               | 0               |
| 21    | Madhya Pradesh       | 63           | 18758         | 12974         | 41598         | 18140            | 13724            | 43231            | 25769           | 65283           | 64020           |
| 22    | Maharashtra          | 51           | 29321         | 40186         | 38830         | 26789            | 39673            | 40399            | 67315           | 67828           | 66259           |
| 23    | Manipur              | 4            | 441           | 674           | 560           | 251              | 1058             | 422              | 634             | 628             | 720             |
| 24    | Meghalaya            | 0            | 0             | 0             | 0             | 0                | 0                | 0                | 0               | 0               | 0               |
| 25    | Mizoram              | 0            | 0             | 0             | 0             | 0                | 0                | 0                | 0               | 0               | 0               |
| 26    | Nagaland             | 2            | 185           | 257 14653     | 210           | 150              | 223              | 194 18577        | 153             | 199             | 233             |
| 27 28 | Odisha               | 30           | 10874 873     | 1232          | 15588 1094    | 8980 835         | 19567            | 845              | 44689 1452      | 39786 1212      | 36797 1473      |
| 29    | Puducherry Punjab    | 2 33         | 61023         | 67286         |               | 40297            | 1363 71313       | 72668            | 85061           | 79413           | 73388           |
| 30    | Rajasthan            | 50           | 30168         | 43357         | 68711 50912   | 27187            | 41740            | 48155            | 46048           | 47957           | 50714           |
| 31    | Sikkim               | 2            | 240           | 349           | 287           | 286              | 417              | 325              | 195             | 148             | 35              |
| 32    | Tamil Nadu           | 40           | 21774         | 25645         | 22608         | 13468            | 27775            | 23039            | 32519           | 30952           | 32222           |
| 33    | Telangana            | 23           | 10820         | 11814         | 13439         |                  | 10568            | 13227            | 18095           | 7213            | 18888           |
| 34    | Tripura              |              | 2762          | 4028          | 3636          | 11622            | 3663             | 3726             | 3604            |                 |                 |
| 35    | Uttar Pradesh        | 189          | 170634        | 229098        | 287494        | 183793           | 234047           | 284091           | 396462          | 390256          | 396875          |
|       |                      | 9            | 10749         | 13342         | 14707         | 2717             |                  |                  |                 | 3977            | 3957            |
| 36    | Uttarakhand          | 18           |               |               |               | 11319            | 14722            | 14726            | 15997           | 14617           | 14591           |
| 37    | West Bengal          | 4            | 165           | 301           | 657           | 118              | 351              | 312              | 1166            | 1124            | 1517            |
| 38    | Total                | 812          | 497447        | 727587        | 825502        | 531606           | 744700           | 826889           | 1173298         | 1130734         | 1143915         |