Timely disposal of family court applications is mandated despite overall case backlogs.

Devan Ramachandran, J.

The petitioner seeks that R.P.No.5/2025 in O.P.No.761/2019, pending before the learned Family Court, Attingal, be directed to be taken up and disposed of within a time frame to be fixed by this Court.

2. Sri.Jayakumar - appearing for the petitioner, submits that, though his client has moved the learned Family Court seeking expeditious disposal of the Original Petition through an Interlocutory Application, produced as Ext.P4; the Family Court has not taken adequate steps to expedite the proceedings.

3. We certainly have empathy for the petitioner; and ideally, all cases should be disposed of at the earliest. However, there is a large pendency in every Family Court and we cannot be oblivious to this.

4. That said, Ext.P4 application moved by the petitioner before the learned Family Court ― which, in our view, is in accordance with the declarations in Shiju Joy A. v. Nisha [2021 (2) KLT 607] ― requires to be disposed of without delay. In the afore circumstances, we allow this Original Petition; with a direction to the learned Family Court, Attingal, to consider Ext.P4 application in its proper perspective, leading to appropriate orders/action on it, without any avoidable delay, but not later than three weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment.

Sd/-