Rajya Sabha passes Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022

New Delhi: Amid continuous sloganeering by the opposition members, the Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the ‘Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022’ by a voice vote. Lok Sabha had passed this bill last week.

Opposition members led by Congress were protesting alleging misuse of investigating agencies by the government against the political opponents.

In response to the discussion on the bill, Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju talked about the need to have the legislation passed considering the long list of pending cases.

He said that there are at present 715 family courts in the country with over 11 lakh pending cases and the government is emphasising having at least one family court in each district for speedy disposal of cases.

According to the Family Court Act of 1984, it is mandatory for a state government to set up a family court for every city or town whose population exceeds one million.

The Minister informed the House that the Union government has already asked judicial officers to give importance to family matters.

Rijiju further mentioned that in India, marriage is not only a union of two individuals but that of families and communities and that when a marriage breaks down, a structure crumbles.

Hitting out at the opposition members, Rijiju said that he wanted to have a detailed discussion on the important bill but the way the Opposition, especially Congress members, behaved, it won’t be possible.

As soon as the bill was passed, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh adjourned the House for the day.