Family court offers litigants a spell of ‘sukoon’ and smiles

The Mumbai court held a belated International Day of Families (marked globally on May 15) celebration on May 19, the first court in Maharashtra to hold such an event.

The slow-moving elevator of the Mumbai family court stops at every floor. On the first, a lawyer is threatening to levy more serious charges on a client’s spouse. On the second, a teary-eyed mother-and-daughter duo walks into the lift. “Do we really need to take the case to the high court?” the daughter asks. On the fifth, a young couple sits awkwardly on a wooden bench, not looking at each other and avoiding eye contact with the strangers around them.

Mumbai, India - May 19, 2023: A mental wellness workshop celebrating International Day if Families at the Mumbai family court, BKC in Mumbai, India, on Friday, May 19, 2023. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Emotions run high and stress levels peak at the family court. “People often call us a divorce court,” said Swati Chauhan, principal judge. “But we are here to save and protect families too, and run several charitable programmes to do so.”

To reiterate the message, the Mumbai court held a belated International Day of Families (marked globally on May 15) celebration on May 19, the first court in Maharashtra to hold such an event. It hosted a workshop on mental wellness and awareness, conducted by Sukoon (the Hindi word for ‘tranquility’, especially after a spell of agitation), a project by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).

Sukoon has been pitching in at the family court since 2018, focusing on the mental health of litigants and their families and offering free counselling. “Every day, we see litigants dealing with so much negativity and sorrow in their lives,” said Chauhan.

“Through this workshop, we want to help them focus on better things and a better future even while going through a divorce.”

The workshop, attended by litigants as well as Chauhan, other judges, lawyers and staff members of the Mumbai family court, started with participants throwing softballs at one another.

Sukoon’s counsellor Madhavi Joshi explained to the now-smiling participants the importance of being in the present.

“While trying to focus on the balls, all of us forgot about the stresses of our lives, of worrying about our past and our future,” she said.

“To learn to be mindful and be in the present can help us deal with our overwhelming emotions.”

Joshi then urged participants to identify their safe space and think of it when faced with negative emotions. “It’s a great coping mechanism,” she said.

The participants then pitched in. While one female participant said the beach was her safe space where she felt calm and relaxed, for another it was looking out of a window and watching the world go by. Yet another said it was reading.

“We have created a pool of coping mechanisms here, and I hope you use them when you feel anxious the next time,” said Joshi.

The ball-throwing in particular seemed to get the message across. Litigant Kalpana Jore, 29, couldn’t stop smiling.

“I don’t remember the last time I felt so light,” she said later. “It feels good to forget your worries, even if it’s just for a bit.” Another litigant, Shirin Banu, 36, said she couldn’t agree more. “I have been coming to the family court for two years,” she said.

“The environment here is always sombre. Today felt different. Seeing lawyers, judges and other litigants smile and share their coping mechanisms made me feel happy and positive as well.”

The outreach will continue at the family court. Alongside Sukoon, TISS and the court also run Project Muskaan (Smiles), which offers litigants’ children access to counselling. There are also supervised meeting sessions where non-custodial parents can meet their kids in a children’s room on the court premises.

Two months ago, the court opened a lactating room, a first for Maharashtra, which is open to litigants and court staff. “All these facilities that we have within the complex are free,” said Chauhan. “As I said earlier, we are not a divorce court, but a family court.”