The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022 to overcome the issue of lack of jurisdiction of Family Courts in the States of Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland. It may be recalled that Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju had introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha on July 18, 2022, to give statutory cover to already functioning family courts in Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland with the goal of promoting conciliation and securing speedy resolution of disputes related to marriage and family affairs.
The Family Courts (Amendment) Bill amends the Family Courts Act, 1984. The act allows the state governments to establish Family Courts while the central government is empowered to notify dates for the Act to come into force in different states.
Though the Government of Nagaland established two Family Courts in September 2008 and the Government of Himachal Pradesh established three Family Courts in February 2019, the same were not brought into force by the Central Government vide notification in the Official Gazette as prescribed under Section 1(3) of the Family Courts Act, 1984.
Since the central government had not extended the application of the Act to these two states, the governments of Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland have established Family Courts in their states in accordance with the Act in 2008 and 2019, respectively, and have been operating without any legal authority since their establishment.
The Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022 aims to insert a provision establishing family courts in Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland with effect from February 15, 2019, and September 12, 2008, respectively.
Additionally, the bill seeks to include a new section 3A that will retrospectively legalize all measures made by the governments of Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland as well as their respective Family Courts in accordance with the aforementioned Act.
The establishment of Family Courts in both the states will be retrospectively valid from these dates. All actions taken under the Act in both the states, including the appointment of judges, and orders and judgments passed by the Family Courts, will also be deemed to be valid from these dates retrospectively.
How the issue started
Only last year, a petition before the Himachal Pradesh High Court said that the central government had not issued any notification extending the Family Court Act to Himachal Pradesh and that state government directions to establish such courts lacked legal power. A similar problem exists for Nagaland’s family courts.
Himachal Pradesh has three such courts in Shimla, Dharamshala and Mandi whereas Nagaland has two in Kohima and Dimapur. Last year, the Himachal Pradesh High Court impleaded the Centre as a party in a petition challenging the formation of family courts.
Following that, the Centre acted and introduced this measure to support the existing family courts in both states.