New Delhi, March 16 Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said on Monday that it is very important for family courts to eliminate the "psychological fear" from a child's mind, and for that, they should introduce some changes in the traditional functioning of courts.
"Should family courts have these black robes? Won't it create a psychological fear in the child or in the mind of a child when we are visualizing and conceptualizing a new concept for family courts?" he questioned.
He suggested that the presiding judges and lawyers in family courts should not wear uniforms.
"Personally, I feel why shouldn't we try to develop an idea? It's just an idea.
"For all of you in family courts, our presiding officer will not wear court dresses. The members of the bar will not wear black and white robes," CJI Kant said.
He said that police officers would also not wear police uniforms, because this entire environment creates fear in the minds of children, particularly when they are the worst victims of any system.
"And when one wants to resolve disputes pertaining to them, I think we need to come up with altogether different kinds of ideas," the CJI said.
He advocated for establishing a "familiar atmosphere" free from fear across family courts, emphasizing that they were meant to refurbish or repair human relationships.
Speaking at the laying of the foundation stone for the construction of a new family court complex in Rohini, the CJI floated several new ideas to improve these courts.
"Not everyone wants to come to the court. When we talk of reforms and when we talk of the concept of the family court as a platform for resolving disputes, it is not like civil property disputes.
"It is meant to refurbish, reason, repair the human relationship. Can't we call them family resolution centres?" the CJI said.
Highlighting that Rohini had emerged as one of the major residential districts in the national capital, the CJI said that it deserved the development of judicial infrastructure.
Comparing family courts with other courts, the CJI said that unlike most litigation and disputes that come before them, they are not between distant parties or impersonal entities.
"They arise within families, individuals who were at some point companions in a shared life, they may continue to share mutual responsibilities as parents, caregivers or members of the same household. Therefore, the dispute before the family court carries huge emotional, social and financial consequences that extend far beyond the immediate legal controversy," he said.
Justice Manmohan of the Supreme Court also spoke at the event, saying, "In Delhi, the perpetual challenges that the district judiciary faces are threefold. One is budget, the other is staff and the third is space, and space means courtrooms as well as residential accommodation."
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Delhi High Court Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya also spoke at the event.