‘No family court in Chandigarh a serious issue,’ says HC; asks UT administration, Centre to take necessary steps

“By the next date fixed, we expect the respondents to ensure that adequate steps are taken for establishment of Family Court at Chandigarh, at the earliest possible,” the bench added.

The PIL filed through Advocate Kanwar Pahul Singh contends that despite approval for setting up family courts in Chandigarh, the institution has not been established nearly nine years after the process was initiated.

“Albeit, Chandigarh is regarded with a celebrated term, ‘The City Beautiful’, and known for its fascinating green cover but it is crying from inside due to its unable-ness to provide even the basic facilities for its beautiful citizens as there is no separate-cum-independent ‘Family Courts’ established at District Courts, Chandigarh till date by its Administration,” the petition added.

The petitioner further submitted that Parliament, exercising its constitutional powers, enacted the Family Courts Act, 1984, providing for establishment of separate family courts, while Article 256 cast a constitutional duty on governments to ensure compliance with laws enacted by Parliament. The petition alleged that the UT Administration had failed to fulfil this duty despite the high court having approved establishment of a family court in Chandigarh in 2017 and having repeatedly written to the Administration.

The petitioner also submitted that because of the non-establishment of such courts, citizens were being compelled to pursue family disputes before regular civil courts, where, according to the PIL, lengthy procedures deprived them of timely justice. “Right to access to justice is one of the facets of the fundamental right to life and liberty,” the petition added.

The society said it learnt through a newspaper this year that Chandigarh had no family court and subsequently sought information under the RTI Act. The RTI response stated that family disputes pending before superior judicial officers were being dealt with by one judicial officer in the district courts.

The petitioner also relied on correspondence between the high court and the Chandigarh Administration dating back to October 2017. According to the PIL, the high court had repeatedly sought notification and sanction of the judicial post and supporting staff.

As per petitioner, one communication from the high court stated that 1,572 cases required to be taken up by a family court were pending in the Chandigarh Sessions Division.

The petitioner alleged that despite the repeated communications, “Chandigarh Administration did not pay any respect for the respectful requests having already been made by the Punjab and Haryana High Court since 2017 till date.”

The PIL seeks directions to the UT Administration to exercise its constitutional duty under Article 256 and comply with Section 3 of the Family Courts Act, 1984, by establishing family courts at the Chandigarh District Courts without further delay. It also seeks sanction for two posts of Judicial Officers of the rank of District and Sessions Judge, along with supporting staff and their respective pay scales.