RAJYA SABHA PASSES FAMILY COURTS (AMENDMENT) BILL

The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022 which sought to amend the Family Courts Act, 1984 to establish family courts in Himachal Pradesh with effect from 15 February 2019 and in Nagaland with effect from 12 September 2008.

Piloted by Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, the Bill was passed by voice vote amid uproar created by the Opposition on misuse of Central agencies. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on 26 July.

The Bill amends the Family Courts Act, 1984. The Act allows state governments to establish Family Courts. The central government is empowered to notify dates for the Act to come into force in different states. The governments of Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland have set up Family Courts in their States under the Act. However, the Central government has not extended the application of the Act to these states.

The Bill also seeks to insert a new Section 3A to retrospectively validate all actions under the actions taken by the State Government of Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland and the Family Courts of those states prior to the commencement of the Family Courts (Amendment) Act, 2022.

The Bill seeks to extend the application of the Act to the state of Himachal Pradesh, with effect from 15 February 2019, and to the state of Nagaland, with effect from 12 September 2008. The establishment of Family Courts in both states will be retrospectively valid from these dates. All actions taken under the Act in both the states, including the appointment of judges and orders and judgments passed by the Family Courts, will also be deemed to be valid from these dates retrospectively.