- Why in news
- On 5 Feb 2026, the Law Ministry told Rajya Sabha that video conferencing is enabled in 3,240 court complexes, and 3.93 crore hearings were held by video till 31 Dec 2025. Use of video in Family Courts is left to judicial discretion.
- What it is
- The Family Courts Act, 1984 lets State/UT Governments set up family courts, in consultation with the High Court. Their aim is to promote conciliation and secure speedy settlement of marriage and family disputes. Family courts stress settlement over adversarial litigation.
- Purpose
- The Act provides for family courts to promote conciliation and speedy settlement of marriage and family disputes.
- Who sets up
- State/UT Governments establish family courts, in consultation with the High Court.
- Section 3(1)(a)
- A family court is mandatory for every city or town with population above one million. Elsewhere it is optional, if the government deems it necessary.
- eCourts Phase III
- Phase III (2023-2027) earmarks Rs 228.48 crore for upgrading video conferencing infrastructure.
Don’t confuse with Family Courts vs Lok Adalats: Family courts are statutory courts under the 1984 Act and decide family disputes. Lok Adalats are under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 and work on compromise.
Laws, judgments and statutory bodies: 30 Prelims questions since 2013 (what the law says, who chairs, legal basis). In Mains, 44 news-triggered questions, most in GS2, asking for provisions and challenges.
Why it matters
- Virtual hearings widen access to justice, saving time and money for poor litigants and working professionals.
Problems
- Use of video in Family Courts is discretionary and varies by High Court; no separate Family Court usage data is kept.
Way forward
- Track video-hearing data for Family Courts separately and set common High Court norms for virtual mediation and counselling.
Put in your answer
Coverage: Video conferencing is enabled in 3,240 court complexes and 1,272 jails.
- 2024Mains GS2 · Q2Distinguish Lok Adalats and Arbitration Tribunals; whether they handle civil and criminal cases.
- 2015Mains GS2 · Q6Major changes in Arbitration and Conciliation Act via 2015 Ordinance; dispute resolution improvement.
- 2025Mains GS2 · Q2Need for administrative tribunals versus courts; impact of 2021 tribunal rationalization.
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Lasting law on the syllabus; the release gives no fresh decision or debate. Laws are 23 of 327 news-linked Prelims questions.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.