Divorce: Couples avoid court-kacheri in Pune
Warring partners prefer out-of-court settlement to save time and efforts
Thanks to the ever-rising pendency in Pune family court, the trend of people opting for out-of-court settlement is increasing.
Lawyers are of the opinion that since divorce in itself is a psychologically draining exercise, hence, lesser the time it takes, the better it is for the applicants.
Opting for out of court settlements, couples save time and also the litigation cost.
Lawyers speak
Out-of-court settlement is one of the most effective ways as couples filing for divorce go through psychological stress. The settlement saves litigation cost and also time.It's comparatively less painful
— Abhay Apte
Most of the divorce cases are from couples involved in love marriages. They marry at an early age and then file for divorce. Besides, criminal cases, like that of domestic violence can be avoided if settlement is made out of court —Shekar Tawade
Many women, filing divorce are working women and if they try to reach to a conclusion through the court, they have to come there regularly. Now a days, courts are overburdened. Hence to avoid a time consuming process, they prefer settlement outside court
—Pratibha Ghorpade
Chaos in 'space-crunched' court fails to reunite couples
The Pune family court lacks the infrastructure required to carry out mediation between warring couples. There is just a single room where two to three couples, their lawyers and counsellors crowd at the same time. This hardly gives the couples chance to discuss the problem openly.
Chaos is a daily occurrence in the seventh floor of the family court in Bharati Bhavan where the mediator's room in situated.
As per the high court direction in 2010, it is mandatory that a family court refer two cases for mediation and such mediation process should take place for two months.
In 2012, of the 118 cases referred, 29 got settled while 52 failed. This year till July 30, of the 190 cases refereed, 71 got settled, while 56 failed to reach mediation.
Presently, 28 mediators are working in the family court which includes lawyer, psychiatrists and social workers.
The present room slotted for mediation process can accommodate only two couples at a time as the same room is used as a child exist room where on every Saturday, a parent gets the custody of a child to spend the entire day with him/her.
The court officer admitted to the space crunch. "Currently, we do have space crunch. But as soon as we shift to the new premises in Shivajinagar, the problem will be solved. Whatever we cannot afford in the slotted room, we carry out the proceeding in the vacant court room, corridor or the family bar room."
Pune family court lawyer association's secretary lawyer Ashish Purohit said, "The current mediator room is also used as a child exist room. Often the mediation process takes place in front of the child, and it can have adverse effect on the child's psyche. Often the parents of the couple too have to be involved, and under such circumstances, the room is full of chaos."
Senior lawyer Abhay Apte said, "Mediation is the need of the day because so many people cannot keep on fighting for indefinite years."
Advocate Nileema Agashe, a mediator, said, "Space crunch is a major issue. There is no proper place to sit. The lack of chairs compel us to sit on the floor to settle issues."
Family court building construction hits a roadblock
The construction work of the new family court building in Shivajinagar has hit a roadblock as the contractor hired to construct it has stopped the work stating that the rates of raw materials have increased.
In September 2009, the then chief justice of Bombay High Court Swatanter Kumar had laid the foundation stone for the new family court building. The construction was expected to be completed by March 2012.
The new building would be convenient for lawyers and litigants as the Pune District and Sessions Court, which is across the road, will be joined by a pedestrian subway for which additional Rs1 crore had been sanctioned by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The work is in progress at gate number 4.
The current family court is situated at Bharati Vidyapeeth Bhavan and is a rented property with more than 3,000 cases related to divorce, adoption and maintenance. While the current premises houses five courts but there's no special arrangement for parking.
The new building will have amenities like the children room, separate mediation room, library, parking, bar rooms, etc.
Pune Bar Association vice-president Satish Pailwan said, "The construction had started in 2009 and was expected to be completed within 15 months. But in 2011, there were some disputes between the contractor and the Public Work Department (PWD) and the contractor was changed. Initially, the building plan was sanctioned for two floors. Now two additional floors will be constructed."
Pune family court lawyers association president Ganesh Kawade said, "Due to the laid back attitude of the contractors and PWD, not only are the lawyers suffering but the litigants are inconvenienced as well. There is no proper parking area for our litigants and lawyers. Regularly, 10 to 20 vehicle owners have to pay fine to the traffic police."
The contractor's relatives admitted to the dispute. "We are trying our best to finish the work in time. The PMC had not sanctioned the plan and we had taken charge of the construction from the previous contractor."
DK Igale, deputy engineer with PWD, said, "Till December this year, the work will be completed. There were some difficulties in between about material supply and increase in prices due to the local body tax strike."
http://www.dnaindia.com/pune/1869946/report-divorce-couples-avoid-court-kacheri-in-pune
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