Family Courts Act, 1984

The marriage between Sau. Jiya and Kuldeep was dissolved by a family court on the ground of cruelty, a decree later affirmed by the High Court. After the husband remarried in 2019, the parties disputed a permanent alimony settlement, with the wife seeking a lump‑sum amount and the husband contesting his income and asse…

The appellant, Smt. N. Usha Rani, married her first husband in 1999, separated and executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2005, and subsequently married the respondent twice, the second marriage being registered. The respondent obtained a decree declaring the first marriage void and later filed a criminal revi…

The appellant, Ivan Rathinam, was alleged by the respondent and his mother to be the biological father of the respondent, who was born during the respondent's mother's marriage to Mr. Raju Kurian. The parties litigated in a Munsiff Court, a Sub‑Judge Court and a Family Court over a declaration of paternity, a DNA test,…

Balram Yadav filed a suit in the Family Court of Ambikapur seeking a declaration that Fulmania Yadav was not his legally married wife. The Family Court decreed in his favour, declaring the marriage invalid. Fulmania Yadav appealed to the Chhattisgarh High Court, which set aside the decree, holding that the Family Court…

The Society (St. Theresa's Tender Loving Care Home) sought permission to place a five‑year‑old girl, Sahiti, for inter‑country adoption by two U.S. residents. The child was said to have been relinquished by her mother, but the relinquishment deed was later found to be fabricated and the Society had been prosecuted for …

Durga Prasanna Tripathy married Arundhati Tripathy on 5 March 1991. The wife left the matrimonial home in October 1991 and the parties lived apart for about 14 years. The husband filed a petition for divorce under Section 13(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging cruelty and desertion. The Family Court granted the decr…

The husband (K. Srinivas Rao) appealed against a High Court order that set aside a decree of divorce in his favour. The Supreme Court examined whether the wife’s filing of false, indecent and defamatory complaints, and multiple criminal proceedings against him and his family, amounted to mental cruelty under s.13(1)(i‑…

The State of Andhra Pradesh created Family Courts and Mahila Courts and, lacking sufficient women judges in the District & Sessions Judges Grade‑II cadre, sanctioned ten additional posts exclusively for women by relaxing Rule 2 of the Special Rules for the A.P. State Higher Judicial Service. An advertisement was issued…

Mushtt Rehana Begum (appellant) sought to quash a criminal complaint filed by her husband (second respondent) under Sections 494 and 495 of the IPC, alleging that she married him while a prior marriage subsisted. The dispute over her matrimonial status had already been adjudicated by the Principal Judge of the Family C…

The husband filed for divorce on the ground of adultery and sought a DNA test of their son, born during the marriage, to establish paternity. The Family Court and the High Court ordered the DNA test, but the Supreme Court set aside those orders, holding that the conclusive presumption of legitimacy under Section 112 of…

Balwinder Kaur married Hardeep Singh under Sikh rites and later filed a divorce petition on grounds of cruelty and desertion. The husband did not appear, and the District Judge granted an ex‑parte decree of divorce. The wife appealed to the High Court under Section 28 of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging that her husban…

A Muslim couple divorced; the wife filed a petition under Section 125 of the CrPC for maintenance, which the Family Court converted into an application under Section 3 of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 and ordered maintenance. The High Court set aside the conversion, holding the Family Cou…

The father (Aman Lohia) filed a guardianship petition under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 and the Family Courts Act, 1984 seeking declaration as guardian of his two‑year‑old daughter. The mother (Kiran Lohia) did not file a written statement but filed several applications under CPC, including a Section 151 applicat…

The appellant, Abhilasha, a Hindu daughter, challenged a lower court order that limited her maintenance from her father, Parkash, to the period until she attained majority, arguing that under Section 20(3) of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 she could claim maintenance until she marries. The Supreme Court …

The appellant, an elderly father, filed a petition under Section 125 of the CrPC before the Family Court at Bijapur seeking monthly maintenance of Rs.5,000 from his son, who was employed in Syndagi. The Family Court dismissed the petition, holding it lacked jurisdiction because the son worked in Syndagi, and the High C…

The appeal concerned a custody dispute over a child born to Perry Kansagra and Smriti Madan Kansagra. After mediation failed, the High Court had held that the mediator’s and counsellor’s reports were confidential and could not be used, and later set aside that decision on review. The Supreme Court held that the High Co…

The husband filed a divorce petition and sought to introduce secretly recorded telephone conversations with his wife as evidence, submitting memory cards, a CD and transcripts. The Family Court allowed the evidence, but the High Court set aside that order on the ground that the recordings violated the wife's right to p…

The petitioner, a U.S. citizen, married a U.S. citizen husband and had two children who are U.S. citizens. After a visit to India, the petitioner refused to return to the United States with the children, prompting the husband to obtain custody orders in a Connecticut Superior Court and later file a habeas corpus petiti…

Amardeep Singh filed a civil appeal challenging the Family Court's order granting a waiver of the six‑month cooling‑off period under Section 13B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, for a mutual‑consent divorce. The parties had been living separately for over eight years, had settled all pending disputes including a mas…

The State of Kerala had established a Family Court at Manjeri in 1999, but due to inadequate facilities the Bar Association sought its relocation to the district headquarters at Malappuram. The High Court recommended the shift, and the State Government issued an order effecting it. The appellants challenged the order, …

The marriage between U. Sree and U. Srinivas broke down, leading the wife to file a petition for restitution of conjugal rights and the husband to file for divorce on the ground of mental cruelty under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act. The Family Court and the Madras High Court granted the divorce, held the …

The wife filed a joint petition for divorce by mutual consent under Section 138 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. After the mandatory six‑month waiting period expired on 19‑Nov‑2007, the husband was absent on three successive dates (19‑Nov, 1‑Dec and 4‑Dec). The Family Court, without being satisfied that the husband was…

The appellant, a Muslim husband, obtained a triple talaq and was ordered by the Family Court to pay interim maintenance of Rs.20,000 per month to his divorced wife, which the High Court reduced to Rs.10,000. He appealed, arguing that Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) does not apply to Muslim women af…

The husband and wife married, had children and the husband purchased properties using dowry cash and jewellery, promising to transfer them to the wife. After the husband pronounced talaq, the wife filed a suit in the Family Court under the Family Courts Act claiming ownership of the properties. The Family Court decreed…

The Supreme Court examined whether video conferencing could be used in matrimonial disputes under the Family Courts Act, 1984, particularly in transfer petitions. It held that Section 11 of the Act obliges the court to hold proceedings in camera if either party desires, and that allowing video conferencing on the conse…

The petitioner filed an application under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, seeking maintenance from her husband, and subsequently applied for an interim maintenance order pending the final disposal of the main application. The Metropolitan Magistrate refused the interim order, stating that the Code …

The petitioner sought transfer of a divorce and child‑custody petition from the Family Court in Alappuzha, Kerala to the Family Court in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The respondent argued that, following the Supreme Court’s decision in Krishna Veni Nagam, the matters could be dealt with via video‑conferencing instead of transf…

The case concerned the guardianship of two minor children of Colonel Ramneesh Pal Singh and Sugandhi Aggarwal. The Family Court had awarded permanent custody to the father with visitation rights to the mother, but the Delhi High Court set aside that order and ordered shared custody. The Supreme Court examined the welfa…

The wife (Nitaben Dinesh Patel) filed a counter‑claim in her husband’s divorce suit seeking a declaration that his alleged second marriage to Hinaben Manubhai Panchal was void and that their child was illegitimate. The trial court allowed amendment of her written statement to include facts about the second marriage (pa…

Mrs. Payal Jindal married Capt. Ashok Kumar Jindal on 24 January 1988. The husband filed a petition for divorce under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act on 16 August 1988 alleging cruelty. The wife denied the allegations and sought transfer of the case from the Family Court, Pune to Delhi, obtaining a temporary stay …

Shamima Farooqui, a Muslim woman, filed an application under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking maintenance after being harassed and deserted by her husband Shahid Khan, who later divorced her. The Family Court ordered Rs 2,500 per month from the date of application and Rs 4,000 per month from the da…

Samar Kumar Roy filed a suit under Section 34 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 (and Section 38 for injunction) seeking a declaration that his alleged marriage under the Special Marriage Act was void. The plaintiff died during the proceedings and his mother was substituted as his legal representative under Order 22 Rule…

Anu Bhandari and Pradip Bhandari, married in 1997, had been living separately since 2011 and were involved in 23 pending civil and criminal cases. After extensive mediation, they reached an amicable settlement and filed an application for divorce by mutual consent under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act. The Suprem…

Shabana Bano, a Muslim woman, filed a petition under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code for maintenance against her husband, Imran Khan, after being divorced and left with a newborn child. The husband contended that under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, she was not entitled to main…

The husband appealed against a Family Court order granting interim maintenance of Rs 15,000 per month to his wife and Rs 10,000 per month to his son under Section 125 of the Cr.P.C., which was affirmed by the Bombay High Court. The Supreme Court upheld the lower courts' orders, directed the husband to pay the full arre…

The petitioner, a practising advocate, filed a writ petition alleging that he was handcuffed while being taken to court and that the Union Government had failed to issue guidelines on handcuffing as required by the Prem Kumar Shukla judgment. The petition also sought a mandamus directing the Central Government to bring…

The husband (appellant) filed for divorce on the ground of cruelty after his wife (respondent) left him and returned to her parental home. The Family Court granted the decree of dissolution, but the wife appealed to the High Court under Section 19 of the Family Courts Act; the appeal was filed on 09‑09‑2004. The appell…

The Constitution Bench examined the scope of Article 142(1) of the Constitution, holding that the Supreme Court may depart from statutory procedure and even substantive law to achieve "complete justice" provided the exercise is guided by fundamental public policy. It ruled that, in cases of settlement between parties, …