'Free Legal Aid Centre on Family Matters’ by Mukund Sarda gives amicable solutions

Statistics compiled over past few decades reveal that the number of family matters reported to the law has increased substantially over the last decade. A major proportion of these cases correspond to marital discords and property disputes. Every fifth family in India has a history of marital discord and 1 out of 10 such cases are generally taken to court, however many later are solved through out of court settlements. But nonetheless, there is a huge pile of such pending cases. Dr. Mukund Sarda, Principal, New Law College, Bharati Vidyapeeth University has devised a way to sort these cases at pre-litigation stage.

'Free Legal Aid Centre on Family Matters’ started at New Law College by Mukund Sarda aims to resolve family matters in an amicable way. This centre has been operational since 2 years and has resolved over 415 cases. Here, an esteemed panel of 20 experienced lawyers and academicians help resolve family matters by their free legal advice and counseling of the parties.

For the students of NLC, this serves as the perfect place to learn how to approach and resolve marital and family discords. Law students are encouraged to carefully observe and actively participate in the proceedings. They are even sensitized about the cases and recommended to view them from an emotional view point as well.

A major number of such cases involve domestic violence, live-in relationships and old people who are disowned by their families. The government has established laws like Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, but it isn’t always possible for people to take the matters to the courts as it involves time and money. In such cases, ‘Free Legal Aid Centre on Family Matters’ serves as the way out.