Outnumbering of Original Petitions in Family Courts

Anyone who has ever gone to a Family Court, will know that it is not the best place for litigation. There is no decency or ethics, neither among lawyers nor between litigants. This is mostly due to deficiencies in the legal system and unreasonable laws biased in favour of the women.

Here I am concerned with a related matter, about docket multiplication. When a couple approaches a family court for divorce and other related reliefs, there would be numerous cases filed on their behalf.

The husband would be filing for restitution of conjugal rights, custody of children etc, whereas wife usually files for divorce, maintenance, return of gold ornaments etc. Currently, all these are separate cases, having separate proceedings and docket numbers. There would be minimum three original petitions and one miscellaneous case (apart from 498A and domestic violence criminal cases), when a warring couple decides to fight it out in family court. As a topping to the chaos, all these cases are granted separate docket numbers, like OP, MC, MP etc.

I have always wondered why a particular couple is not given a single docket number, so that it is easy for the lawyers and registry to handle their cases. I know, all these cases would not originate all at once, but during different periods of time. But still, if a couple is given one main docket number, and is allowed to file interlocutory applications for maintenance, custody of children etc, then it is more easy for everyone to handle the case file.

Anyhow, at the end, joint trial of all the connected cases would be ordered by the Family Court. So why cant these separate original petitions, of a single family, be consolidated into one? Postings, personal appearance, counselling etc become easy that way.

One original petition intimating arise of the matrimonial dispute, and everything else under it as interlocutory applications. It would be a civilised way of conducting litigation in an otherwise adverse environment.