HYDERABAD: With the family courts in the city taking up at least five divorce petitions a day and an increasing number of domestic violence cases being filed, there is a need for an alternative dispute resolution system in place.With this objective, the Council for Alternate Dispute Resolutions (ADR) Trust brought together members from legal services authority and officials from women and child welfare department to look at the problems of marital disputes and related resolutions.
G Neelima, judge, family court, City Civil Court, Secunderabad, who has been dealing with cases booked under Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015 said that children are the most affected in a family dispute.
“Children coming in from broken families are often disturbed and this can stunt their growth psychologically. They need to be dealt with sensitively,” she said. Addressing this, other experts on the panel pointed that families should be counselled in a way that disputes are resolved at home, instead of coming to the court.
“That is the point of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) system — to counsel families to resolve issues at home. Also, a dispute between a couple that seeks a divorce cannot be solved only if they are counselled. All those who live with the couple, especially parents-in-law should also be explained about the ill-effects of broken marriages on children,” said MR Sunitha, 1st Additional Chief Judge, who was the chief guest.
“There are a number of ways couples can reconcile. Among other things, we should ensure that ADR is implemented so that we can reduce the breakdown theory of marriage — the point where reconciling becomes impossible,” she added.