KOCHI: Muvattupuzha Family Court will soon become a child-friendly court as a new room for children will be set up there. Recently, the state government allocated funds for starting a dedicated room for children at the court complex where the family court functions.
Often children are forced to witness long and strenuous legal procedures of the family court standing inside and outside its premises. Also, fights between couples over the custody of their children are frequent at family courts. A child-friendly family court intends to reduce the stress and trauma of children as they often witness divorce-related procedures.
“There will be a separate room where children can spend their time instead of waiting at verandahs. The room will be designed so that it would attract children. There will be books, toys and other entertainment facilities for children in the room. There will be an official in the room to keep an eye on children,” an official said.
The government has sanctioned Rs 1.82 lakh for converting a room at the court complex into children-friendly room. “Earlier, the government had given approval for starting a child-friendly room at the Muvattupuzha Court Complex annexe building.
However, as the building was old and inconvenient for children, we decided to start the room for children on the third floor of the court complex. The room identified for the purpose was functioning as the record room of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court. Recently, government sanction was given for remodelling the room,” an official said.
In June 2022, the Kerala High Court directed family courts in the state to explore the possibility of dedicating a separate room with a child-friendly atmosphere.