‘Only 7 Family Court Judges In Mumbai’: High Court Imposes Cost On Mother Seeking "Unreasonably" Quick Disposal Of Execution Plea For Access To Minor

Observing that lawyers at the bar were required to be sensitive to the heavy load of matters heard by Family Court Judges daily, the Bombay High Court dismissed a woman’s plea seeking directions to the Family Court to decide her execution petition filed in 2022 within a month.

Justice Sharmila Deshmukh imposed cost of Rs. 15,000 on the woman noting one month was an “unreasonable” time period.

“The bar is required to be sensitive to the fact that, it is well known that on the board of the Family Court, there are at least 60 to 70 matters listed every day… Without being sensitive to this fact, an application has been moved for deciding the matter of the year 2022 within a period of one month.”

The woman, a UK citizen, informed the HC that she approached the Family Court in December 2022, seeking execution of an order passed by the Royal High Courts, London, in October 2021. The father wasn’t complying with his undertaking to grant her 50% access to her sons, despite one child being diagnosed with ADHD.

While the Royal High Court decided her custody plea in just six months, the execution plea continues to remain pending.

Her advocate said that parental alienation was now edging towards parental hatred with her sons telling the woman she is bad. The father had filed his response to the execution and sought dismissal on the grounds that it was filed under wrong provisions.

Justice Deshmukh said seeking disposal of the execution application within a month was unreasonable. No statistical data was produced to demonstrate unreasonable adjournments and there were no “special circumstances which would justify the present petitioner’s matter to be taken out of turn and being given special treatment,” the judge observed.

“No doubt, the issue is a sensitive issue but it needs to be noted that the Family Court is dealing with those issues in almost every petition. In almost every petition, the litigant is either waiting for maintenance or for access the custody or divorce.”

The bench further mentioned that there were very few judges handling matrimonial cases at the Bandra Family Court. “It also needs to be noted that there are about 7 family court Judges for the entire city of Mumbai and there is huge institution of cases. I have no doubt that the Family Court Judges are doing their best to ensure that the matters are taken up, heard and disposed of.”

The court observed that no adjournments were granted by the Family Court. “The family Court is bound to follow the procedure which is being required by law and the same as is well known is time consuming. The request for deciding the execution application within a period of one month can at the best be said to be very unreasonable.”

The bench directed the petitioner to pay Rs.15,000 cost imposed to the District Legal Services Authority, Mumbai.