Of the total number of family courts set up so far, 7 such courts have been constituted in Andhra Pradesh followed by one each in Assam, Bihar, Manipur, Sikkim and Union Territory of Pondicherry. Four Family Courts have been set up in Gujarat, 3 in Jharkhand, 8 in Karnataka, 7 in Kerala, 16 in Maharashtra, 2 in Orissa, 6 in Rajasthan, 6 in Tamil Nadu, 14 in Uttar Pradesh, 2 in Uttaranchal and 2 in West Bengal. Fifteen Family Courts, that were sanctioned last year, are being set up in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

    A total of 1,18,509 cases are pending in the Family Courts as on date. Of these, 7234 cases are pending for more than three years.

    Meanwhile, the Centre has urged the States and Union Territories with more than one crore population city to set up more and more Family Courts in order to resolve amicably marital disputes. It is expected that Family Courts in such big cities would be set up during the course of the current financial year.

    Under Section 3 of the Family Courts Act, 1984, the State Governments after consultation with the concerned High Court, may establish a Family Court for every area comprising a city or town whose population exceeds 10 lakh. However, the Central Government has been writing periodically to the State Governments and Union Territories including the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi to establish more Family Courts.

    Under the Family Courts Act, 1984, marital disputes are resolved amicably without the help of lawyers. The experiment of Family Court system, so far, has been very successful in resolving marriage related family disputes unlike the divorce and related disputes in the traditional courts.