Navi Mumbai finally gets family court

NAVI MUMBAINavi Mumbai’s wait for years for a family court in the city has finally ended with the facility being inaugurated on Saturday

NAVI MUMBAI

Navi Mumbai, India - Dec. 9, 2023:Family court. inaugurated byJastice Bharti Dangre at CBD Belapur in Navi Mumbai, India, on Saturday, December 9, 2023. (Photo by Bachchan Kumar/ HT PHOTO) (HT PHOTO)

Navi Mumbai’s wait for years for a family court in the city has finally ended with the facility being inaugurated on Saturday. The facility comes in the same year that the city court has been upgraded to a district judge and additional sessions court along with a civil judge (senior level) court.

The Belapur court building was inaugurated in May 2017 and functioned till April this year as civil and criminal court.

The family court was inaugurated by Bombay high court judge Bharti Dongre at a function presided by Amit Shete acting Principal district and sessions judge, Thane. Apart from a courtroom, the facility has a counselling room, a recreation room for kids to spend quality time and separate rooms for men and women advocates.

Said Sunil Mokal, president of Navi Mumbai Court Bar Association, “The family court for the jurisdiction of Navi Mumbai has been established and started on the sixth floor of the court building. It will be presided over by honourable Judge Rachana Tehra ma’am.”

He added, “The city court at Belapur had for years been a JMFC court i.e. a lower court that dealt only in smaller cases. With the upgradation and several new courts being set up in the premises, the court now caters to virtually all types of cases.”

Welcoming the new facility, Sharda Shah, an advocate said, “Earlier we had only the JMFC court for years with the district court coming this year and now the family court as well. The motor accident court and lok adalats are also happening here. So now we have all the courts under one roof with the added advantage of the first paperless court in the country functioning here.”

Added Shah, “We had to go to Bandra, Thane etc. where they have cases from various cities and hence there is always a lot of rush forcing litigants to spend a lot of time in court. The dates were also given after long intervals. Now with the NAvi Mumbai jurisdiction court, the residents and advocates will all be relieved.”

Stated advocate Hemangi Patil, “The room for kids will serve a number of purposes. Mothers can feed the child here. The children who come with their parent involved in a dispute with the spouse can spend quality time with toys and in a friendly environment. It will also allow a parent who does not have custody of the child to spend time with the child with the permission of the kid. It also provides a good environment for the judge to counsel and speak to the child.”

Stated Patil, “In all the room will I feel help resolve a number of family disputes amicably and that will be in the interest of the family and the society.”

Said advocate Manisha Bandgar, “Earlier, the family disputes of domestic violence, maintenance etc. were heard in separate courts with some in Thane and some here in Belapur. It added to the trauma of the litigants who are already going through tough times. That will not be the case now.”

Said Khan Kaneez Khadijah, who has recently become an advocate, “This court is good for us to practice and will give us a lot of experience as everything is now under one roof.”

Said a litigant on condition of anonymity, “Not only will litigants like us have to spend less time in the court, the cases will also be settled early now as only one city case will be heard.”

She added, “The cases will now be decided on a fast track basis saving hassles, expenses, time and a lot of trauma.”