The Court emphasized the urgent need for family court judges to exercise their judicial mind with heightened sensitivity and responsibility.
The Allahabad High Court recently emphasized the need for the judicial system to prioritize the swift resolution of maintenance cases involving destitute women who lack support from their parents, in-laws, or husbands.
Justice Vinod Diwakar highlighted the importance of ensuring timely justice for those fighting for basic sustenance and dignity in society.
“One of the essential aspects of timely justice lies in retaining the essence of sensitivity towards the cause at hand and upholding the judiciary’s societal responsibility. Therefore, learned family court judges must perform their judicial duties with heightened responsibility, sensitivity, and a steadfast commitment to delivering timely justice while upholding judicial discipline and propriety,” the Court added.
The judicial system must prioritize the expeditious disposal of maintenance cases of destitute women.
Allahabad High Court
The court directed the Director of the Judicial Training and Research Institute in Lucknow to raise awareness among judicial officers undergoing training about judicial discipline and adherence to Supreme Court guidelines on granting maintenance.
It also recommended preparing a checklist of key considerations for such cases, including a clear outline of do’s, to be periodically shared with family court judges.
The Court was considering a woman’s petition seeking maintenance from her husband. In 2019, a family court granted ₹5,000 as maintenance to the wife and ₹3,000 to the couple’s minor child.
However, the ex-parte order was overturned in 2023, prompting the wife to file a revision petition with the High Court.
During the proceedings, the High Court identified certain irregularities and requested a report from the family courts in Saharanpur regarding their adherence to the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court and the High Court in maintenance cases.
“I deem it appropriate not to discuss the contents of the report in detail as the learned Judge -in- charge Family Court has flagged certain issues that are concerned with the administration of the affairs of learned Judges of the Family Court and assured this Court that the Family Courts have started complying with the directions issued in the above-referred judgment,” the Court said in the order passed on December 9.
On May 1, the Court had previously remanded the case to the Principal Judge of the family court for reconsideration, expressing hope that the matter had already been resolved.
The High Court further directed that if the case remained pending, it must be concluded within three weeks of receiving a copy of its December 9 order.
Advocate Sudhir Mehrotra served as amicus curiae to assist the Court.
