New Delhi/ Mumbai: In the Mumbai family court at Bandra, more than 10,000 matrimonial dispute cases are pending. Now, the endless wait for couples awaiting a divorce decree or a decision in a child custody battle may be cut short with law minister M Veerappa Moily mooting a proposal to set up more family courts to ensure speedy disposal of matrimonial cases.

Moily said that the government may consider an amendment in the law to make disposal of divorce and custody cases time-bound, as has been done for gram nyayalayas. He said that family courts will be given a target of winding up such cases -- where mutual consent is absent -- within a year of them being filed. He believes litigating couples should be freed quickly from a broken marriage in order to start life afresh.

"There is no need for divorce cases to drag on for years when the marriage has actually broken down. Similarly,children's custody cases must be decided in a time-bound manner so that there is no uncertainty over their future," Moily said.

Moily's words will bring solace to Joanne Pereira (name changed), whose divorce petition has been pending for over six years in the family court at Bandra. Pereira moved out of her husband's home, along with her two children, alleging cruelty. The husband has refused to grant her a divorce owing to religious reasons.

In 2008, 7,526 cases were filed in the Mumbai family court as against 6,761 in 2007.

In Delhi, nearly 9,000 cases are filed on an average annually. "The number matrimonial dispute cases is rising every year. Seven courtrooms in the family court in Bandra cater to the entire population of Mumbai and Thane. Each judge has about 70 to 80 cases listed for hearing everyday. The pressure on the machinery is phenomenal," said family court lawyer Mridula Kadam.

Lawyer Veena Gowda said that while more courts will help in speedy disposal of cases, litigants too sometimes delay proceedings in the hope of reconciliation or to harass the partner. "Typically, disposal of a divorce case takes seven to nine years. However, we have seen cases where judges have rejected divorce after 14, 15 or 17 years. This is unacceptable. Judges have no right to deny a peaceful life to litigants," said Virag Dhulia of Save India Family Foundation (SIFF).

The Law Commission has recently suggested making "irretrievably broken down marriage" a ground for divorce. However, Moily said that all effort should be first made to save a marriage. He plans to enhance the number of mediation cells to counsel couples to live together. According to senior Supreme Court lawyer Priya Hingorani, competent

staff is required in the mediation cells too. "No doubt that such cases should be disposed off fast but the focus should be on criminal cases of dowry harassment etc where the crucial evidence and witnesses get lost due to delay," said Hingorani.