Navi Mumbai Family Court Is Now Finally Open For Hearing Cases

Navi Mumbai people waited for the family court to open in the city for years. Their wait comes to an end with the facility being inaugurated on Saturday, December 9. The building opened in the same year the city court was remodeled into a district judge court, a senior-level civil judge court, and additional sessions court.

The Belapur court carried out hearings of the criminal and civil cases until April of this year, since its opening in May 2017.

Judge Bharti Dongre of the Bombay High Court opened the family court during a ceremony that was chaired by Amit Shete, the acting principal district and sessions judge of Thane. In addition to a courtroom, the facility features separate rooms for men and women advocates, a leisure space for kids to spend meaningful time in, and a counseling room.

Sunil Mokal, President of Navi Mumbai Court Bar Association, said that on the sixth floor of the courthouse, the family court for the jurisdiction of Navi Mumbai has been set up and commenced hearing cases. The Honourable Judge Rachana Tehra will chair it.

For many years, the municipal court in Belapur operated as a JMFC court, which is a subordinate court that handled only minor issues. The court currently handles almost every kind of case due to the upgrades and the installation of multiple new courts on the property, said Sunil Mokal.

Advocates and residents in particular will benefit greatly from this since they won't have to travel to Thane or even Bandra or other courts, which will save them plenty of time, trouble, and money.

Speaking about the new facility, Sharda Shah, an advocate said that for years they had only the JMFC Court to hear cases and now they have a district court and family court too. The motor accident court and Lok Adalats are also being held in Navi Mumbai. So now they have all the courts under one roof. They also have the added advantage of the first paperless court in the country functioning in Navi Mumbai, said Sharda Shah.

She said that they had to go to Bandra, Thane, etc., where they have cases from various cities. Hence there was always a lot of rush that forced litigants to spend a lot of time in court. The dates were also given at irregular and long intervals. Residents and lawyers will be relieved now that the Navi Mumbai jurisdiction court has been established.

Advocate Hemangi Patil said that the room designated for kids will serve several benefits. She enlisted the following benefits:

• Mothers can feed kids there.

• The kids of the citizens who come in for their case hearings can spend quality time with toys and in a friendly environment.

• A parent who does not have custody of the child can spend time with his/her child on the premises with permission.

• The room will provide a good environment for the judge to counsel and speak to the child.

The room will contribute to the peaceful resolution of several family conflicts, which will benefit both the family and society as a whole. Opening of a new court will grant great relief to all, as in cities lakhs of cases are pending.