In A First, Family Counselling Centre Inaugurated By Chief Justice S. Manikumar At Kerala High Court

A Family Counselling Centre, a facility under the aegis of Kerala High Court Legal Services Committee, was formally inaugurated by the Chief Justice, High Court of Kerala S. Manikumar, on October 26.

This service facility was initiated by the Chairman of Kerala High Court Legal Services Committee, Justice A Muhamed Mustaque, to help the litigants in matrimonial and allied matters to address their emotional needs and to help and guide them to reach a logical conclusion to their protracted litigations. 

The Family Counselling Centre was initially started on an experimental basis in March, with two sittings a week and was functioning on the ground floor of the KELSA Building. However, the successful functioning of the Centre has now led to the Legal Services Committee resolving to extend the services of the Centre to all the family courts and mediation centres of the State and is functioning from Monday to Saturday. 

The matters in which the presiding officer and mediators feel that counselling would help the litigants to take appropriate decisions shall be referred to the Centre for professional counselling, which may be provided either offline or online, considering the availability and convenience of the litigants. 

The counsellors in the centre have undergone courses conducted by the Committee of resource persons from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Behavioral Sciences, Amritha University, M.G. University, and also visiting faculties of University of Toronto.

The FCC is now functioning on the ground floor of Niyama Sahaya Bhavan in the High Court precincts, and the Kerala Federation of Women Lawyers has been authorised by the Legal Services Committee to handle the day-to-day functions and activities of the FCC.