PR ENGLISH SHORTHAND DICTATIONS: ENGLISH SHORTHAND DICTATION-268

Hon. Speaker Sir, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak on this small but very important piece of legislation. Sir, the Government must admit the gross lapse on its part in extending this legislation to Nagaland for nearly one and a half decades and also to Himachal Pradesh where family courts have been established in 2019 itself. This incident came to light only when a petition was filed in the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, challenging the validity of family courts. Had there not been any petition, we would not be discussing this Bill at¹⁰⁰ all. Sir, governance is a continuous process. So, this kind of lapse is not acceptable and this kind of functioning¹²⁰ of the Ministry is not accepted from this Government. So, taking advantage of this discussion, I wish to appeal to¹⁴⁰ all Ministries of the Central Government to look into the Acts that are under their administrative control and to see¹⁶⁰ whether there are any such lapses and, if there are any, kindly take suitable action. I would request the Government to set up a committee to scrutinize all the existing laws and recommend corrective measures to the administrative Ministries, wherever²⁰⁰ required. This is the first point I wish to make. Sir, taking advantage of this Bill, I wish to speak on a few issues that are plaguing the family court system in the country, be it relating to discrimination against²⁴⁰ fathers in custody cases or delays in judgement or misuse of this legislation.

We all must admit that the family court system in the country is not quite in the pink of health. One of the reasons behind this is²⁸⁰ the lack of infrastructure and shortage of judges and judicial officers at the lower level. The hon. Law Minister himself,³⁰⁰ in reply to a question in Parliament, said that 11.79 lakh cases are pending in³²⁰ 732 family courts and Uttar Pradesh tops with 34 per cent of the cases. It is all happening due to shortage of family courts, lack of infrastructure in the existing courts, and shortage of staff. The 14th Finance Commission³⁶⁰ did not give any money to the Ministry when it sought Rs.541 crores. Instead, it was said that 235 more family courts should be set up between 2015 and 2020. The⁴⁰⁰ Minister may kindly share with the House what projection the Ministry has made before the 15th Finance Commission and what⁴²⁰ it has received. Sir, I have a few suggestions which I would like to make for better management, functioning, and delivery of justice in family courts and then I will conclude. Family courts can take the help of NGOs in settlement of disputes. Presently, we have counsellors on temporary basis. We have to appoint counsellors on permanent basis and they⁴⁸⁰ should be given proper training. Judges in family courts need to be gender-sensitized. Procedure in family courts should be simplified⁵⁰⁰ to pave the way for speedy justice. The Government may give a thought of appointing qualified social workers and activists as judges of family courts. As per present norms, a district with one million of population should have a family court. The norm has to be changed, and we must ensure that every district irrespective of size of population, should⁵⁶⁰ have a family court. Judges can also act as counsellors in the later part of counselling. Finally, information and communication technology and artificial intelligence have to be extensively used to settle the cases as early as possible. With these observations,⁶⁰⁰ I support the Bill.

Sir, at the outset, I am thankful to you for giving me a chance to speak on the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022, and I stand here to speak in favour of the⁶⁴⁰ Bill. Sir, the Indian Judiciary probably has the largest backlog of pending cases in the world. This is not a problem of the system. It is primarily because of the size of population that we have. The number of marriages is also very high, and it is probably the highest in the world. As per the National Judicial Data Grid,⁷⁰⁰ there are around 4.7 crore cases which are pending before the courts. Out of this, 4.5 crore⁷²⁰ cases are in the District Courts or the lower courts. High Courts have a backlog of around 50 lakh cases, and the Supreme Court has a backlog of around 72,000. Out of this, 11.75 lakh cases are pending in the family courts. Sir, the regular courts are basically burdened with civil and criminal matters, and little or no attention is given to the family matters. But things are changing because judicial reforms are being⁸⁰⁰ looked into by this Government since 2014. There are pressures from individuals, organisations, and NGOs for fast disposal of such matters. The 59th Report of the Law Commission in 1974 opened up a new paraphernalia.⁸⁴⁰ They suggested the establishment of family courts for early disposal and settlement of family matters. Based on the suggestions of the Law Commission in 1974, and basically to reduce the burden on those trial courts, the Parliament passed the Family Courts Act in 1984, and the edifice of this Act was built on two strong pillars,⁹⁰⁰ the first pillar being to promote conciliation and the second pillar being the speedy settlement of the marriage disputes which are basically brought in front of the family courts. All this marked a new beginning. The family courts started to get established all across the country. As per the guidelines, a city with more than one million of population will⁹⁶⁰ have one family court. The Act of 1984 laid clear terms in jurisdiction, appointment of judges, and powers⁹⁸⁰ and functions of these family courts. These were going on very efficiently in 715 courts established in¹⁰⁰⁰ 26 States of the country today.

The present amendment of 2022 is necessitated by the case of Onkar Sharma versus the State of Himachal Pradesh which has already been discussed. Now, it is important to mention here that the verdict delivered by those courts, especially Nagaland in 2008 and Himachal Pradesh in 2019, needs to be validated by an Act of law which has to be passed from here. The hon. Law Minister has¹⁰⁸⁰ rightfully brought this amendment in the House. The first step towards solution is the identification of the problem. This Government¹¹⁰⁰ has identified the problem. So, I thank the hon. Law Minister and the Government to identify the issue. The problem¹¹²⁰ and the undoing of the previous Government has to be corrected and this is the reason why this issue has been taken up in the House. The State of Himachal Pradesh has three family courts. The State of Nagaland has two family courts. Basically, this amendment validates these five family courts and the judgements delivered by these courts.

Sir, I have one small answer to make to one of our hon. Members who spoke on behalf of a party which¹²⁰⁰ is headed by a woman who happens to be a Chief Minister also. He spoke of women’s representation not being looked after by this Government. I would like to remind him that we have just elected a woman to the highest Constitutional post of the country. This Government is also credited with having appointed the maximum number of women to¹²⁶⁰ the Council of Ministers which is in stark contrast with what happened over the last 70 years. In conclusion, from¹²⁸⁰ the perspective of dispute resolution, family courts are a step in the right direction. Family is the foundation of our¹³⁰⁰ culture and our civilization and the preservation of this family unit needs to be taken care of. It is also the prime responsibility of our Government.

Hon. Chairperson Sir, I thank you for allowing me to speak on such an important Bill. I rise to support the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022 which will amend the Family Courts Act, 1984. Sir, if we go back to the history of the family courts, they were created in 1984 to resolve the disputes of marriage and family matters, ensuring speedy justice. The right to get¹⁴⁰⁰ speedy justice is a fundamental right as emphasised by the Supreme Court of India from time to time. The NDA Government, under the leadership of hon. Prime Minister, has taken so many measures to uphold this fundamental right under Article¹⁴⁴⁰ 21 of the Constitution of India. The hon. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, in a joint conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices in April this year, urged for easy and speedy justice. This Bill is in furtherance of his call for speedy justice. The hon. Prime Minister has suggested the use of technology in the judicial system as an essential part of the Digital India Mission. In the light of our hon. Prime Minister’s call for use of technology by courts, I urge the Government to support the Judiciary in serving online notices and conducting the virtual proceedings in family matters. Our hon. Prime Minister has also recommended the use of local languages in the courts, so that the people of this country feel connected with the judicial process. Our hon. Law Minister is of the opinion that the court cases should be resolved in three years. I really appreciate that. He is persistently and sincerely working towards making¹⁶⁰⁰ it a reality.