Gram Nyayalaya Not Entitled To Deal With Application U/S 3 Of Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act: Kerala HC

The Court said that as per Section 12 of the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 the jurisdiction of the Gram Nyayalaya is to try all offences specified in Part 1 of the First Schedule which indicated that an application under the 1986 Act is not included there.

The Court was hearing a Writ Petition to quash the application filed before the Gram Nyayalaya, Vellanad, Thiruvananthapuram.

The bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas observed, “In the absence of inclusion of petitions filed under the Act in the Schedule to the GN Act, no elaborate discussion is required to conclude that the Grama Nyayalaya, as a court of exclusive jurisdiction is not entitled to deal with applications under the Act.”

Advocate S. Sunil Mauryan appeared for the Appellant and PP S. Nikhil Sankar appeared for the Respondent.

Brief Facts-

The Petitioner is the former husband of the second respondent. Though their marriage was solemnised in 2018 subsequently, by Talaq letters sent on various dates petitioner dissolved the marriage. In the meantime, the second respondent preferred an application under Section 3 of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986. After receipt of notice in the said application, the petitioner approached the Court with this Writ Petition questioning the jurisdiction of the Gram Nyayalaya to deal with an application under the Act.

The Court said that application under Section 3 has to be preferred before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court however, in the present case, the second respondent instead of filing an application before the Magistrate, filed it before the Gram Nyayalaya.

The Court perused the First Schedule to the GN Act which according to the Court indicated that an application under the Act is not included there though an application for an order of maintenance filed under the Cr.PC is specifically mentioned in the schedule.

Therefore, the Court said that the application was before the wrong forum.

Accordingly, the Court disposed of the Writ Petition with directions to the Gram Nyayalaya, Vellanad, Thiruvananthapuram to return the application to the second respondent for presentation before the proper forum in a time-bound manner and at the earliest.

Cause Title: Shiyas S v. State of Kerala (Neutral Citation: 2024:KER:59084)

Appearance:

Appellant: Adv. S. Sunil Mauryan and Adv. G.N. Misha Nair 

Respondent: PP Noushad K.A., PP S. Nikhil Sankar, Adv. B.G. Harindranath, Adv. Suvin R. Menon and Adv. Amith Krishnan H.

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