The Kerala High Court has stated that in cases of time-bound adjudication, the family court cannot simply dispose of the application by stating that the “case will be disposed at earliest.” Instead, it must establish a specific timeframe for resolution.
The petitioner, the wife, had filed a petition in 2018 with the family court under Section 13(1)(i)(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, seeking dissolution of her marriage with the respondent husband. In 2022, the petitioner filed an interlocutory application to request a time-bound resolution of the original petition filed in 2018. However, the family court simply granted the application and stated that “the case will be disposed of at the earliest.”
The Kerala High Court cited the case of Shiju Joy v. Nisha [2021 (2) KLT 607], which had laid down specific directions for family courts to adhere to in order to ensure timely justice. The court observed that disposing of an application for time-bound adjudication by simply stating that it will be done “at the earliest” does not align with the guidelines established in the Shiju Joy case.
The court emphasized that if a party makes a motion for an early hearing or time-bound resolution of a case for a valid reason, the family court must address it appropriately by issuing an order for early hearing or time-bound disposal of the case. If the applicant fails to provide a justifiable reason for early hearing or time-bound disposal, the family court must dismiss the application while providing a brief explanation.
The court ordered the family court to resolve the pending original petition as quickly as possible and to ensure that it is disposed of within a maximum of three months.
Source: https://www.livelaw.in/amp/news-updates/kerala-high-court-time-bound-disposal-family-court-fix-time-frame-226119