VIJAYAWADA: Out of the 1,028 cases pending in the principal family court of Vijayawada, over 500 cases are divorce cases related to Hindu Marriage Act followed by 325 cases related to maintenance. Similarly, in the Additional Family Court of Vijayawada, nearly 1,000 cases relating to family disputes are pending.According to officials, as many as 10-15 people approach the court every day seeking divorce or legal separation. Officials cite that ego clashes between the couple and family disputes are the major reasons for seeking a divorce. A majority of the divorce cases are being filed by people belonging to the age group 28-35 years. Though most people are approaching with mutual consent for divorce, the demand for seeking maintenance is also increasing.
Speaking to Express, Judge of Principal Family Court A Parthasarathy said, “Over the years, there has been an alarming increase in the number of couples seeking a divorce. Earlier there used to be a stigma and this would lead to compromise and adjustments in relations. But nowadays, the stigma has disappeared and people are walking in every day and seeking for divorce and separation.”In the year 2015, the opening balance of the civil cases in family court stood at 1,260 and ended with 723.
With regard to criminal cases, the opening balance was 546 and by the end of the year, it was 336. Each year, the number of cases being filed is increasing every month.
As of July 2017, out of 1,028 pending cases, 510 belong to Hindu Marriage Act, 89 belong to Christian Divorce Act, 41 cases are of guardian custody, where either of the spouse or grandparents sought guardianship of children. There are 7 cases under Muslim Marriage Act, 26 Hindu adoption maintenance cases, 24 execution petitions and 325 maintenance cases.When asked about the pending cases, Judge of Principal Family Court Justice A Parthasarathy said, “Few cases need to be prolonged to save the marriage and relationship. Through the mediation centres in Nyaya Sadan, we counsel them, listen to them and then give them time to rethink their decision. In fact this process really works better than any counselling and it has yielded good results. Most of our disposal cases are via mediation centres.”