Family Courts Should Make All Efforts To Try & Dispose Of Cases Involving Dissolution Of Marriage Within One Year: Karnataka HC

The Karnataka High Court has emphasized that delays in resolving matrimonial cases, particularly those involving requests for marriage dissolution or nullification, have adverse effects on the involved parties and must be resolved with an outer limit of one year.

The Bench of Justice Krishna S Dixit observed, “When a matrimonial case involves the prayer for the dissolution/nullity of marriage, courts should make all efforts to try & dispose of the same within an outer limit of one year, so that in the event of granting such a decree, the parties may restructure their lives. It hardly needs to be stated ‘life is lost in living’. Delay in disposal of such cases very badly affects the parties thereto, needs no deliberation”.

Advocate Basavaraj R Bannur appeared on behalf of the Petitioner.

The Petitioner sought a decree for dissolution/nullity of marriage as he was concerned about the long pendency of their matrimonial case. The petitioner argued that the right to speedy justice is a constitutional guarantee and requested for the case to be expedited.

The Court asserted that matrimonial cases should be handled expeditiously, considering the brevity of human life and that delay in disposal of such cases adversely affect the parties involved. “Having heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and having perused the Petition Papers, this Court is broadly in agreement with the proposition that the matrimonial causes should be tried & disposed off on a war footing, at least as a concession to the shortness of human life. It was Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), a British historian of great repute who had said: “Life is too short to be little”, the Court noted.

Accordingly, the Court directed the Family Court Judge to dispose of the case within three months as well as directed the Registrar General of the Court to circulate the judgment in all concerned circles.

Cause Title: N Rajeev v. C Deepa

Click here to read/download the Order