Specific Relief Act Has No Application To Proceedings Under Family Courts Act: Patna High Court
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The Patna High Court has held that the Specific Relief Act, 1963 has no application to proceedings under the Family Courts Act, 1984, in view of the overriding effect of Section 20 of the latter statute.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Bibek Chaudhuri and Dr. Justice Anshuman made these observations while hearing an appeal under Section 19(1) of the Family Courts Act, in which the Family Court had declared the marriage between the parties null and void.
The appeal before the High Court was filed, inter alia, on the ground that the Family Court had ignored Section 34 of the Specific Relief Act. It was contended that the respondent had not sought any relief pertaining to the restoration of conjugal rights, and that when a party fails to claim a relief that ought to be sought, the applicant is not entitled to any decree. Accordingly, the suit was argued to be barred under Section 34 of the Specific Relief Act.
The Court examined Section 34 of the Specific Relief Act, which deals with the Court's discretion in granting declarations of status or rights. It also took note of Section 20 of the Family Courts Act, which confers an overriding effect upon its provisions over other laws. Holding that Section 34 of the Specific Relief Act had no application in proceedings before the Family Court, the Bench concluded that the objection raised was unsustainable. The Court held:
“12. The principle laid down under the Specific Relief Act, 1963 shall not be applicable upon the suits filed under the Family Courts Act, 1984, due to Section 20 of the Family Courts Act, 1984 stated above. As the Specific Relief Act, 1963 has come into existence in 1963 and Family Court Act, 1984 has come into existence in the year 1984 and the provisions of Family Courts Act have been prevailed by Section 20 in the year 1984 on any other law for the time being in forced…”
The High Court ultimately upheld the order of the Family Court and dismissed the Miscellaneous Appeal.
Cause Title: Anjani Kumar @ Pappu Kumar v. Mamta Bharti and Another
Case Number: Miscellaneous Appeal No. 587 of 2022
Appearance: Mr. Jitendra Prasad Singh, Mr. Varun Krishna Singh, and Mr. Vankatesh Kaushik appeared for the Appellant. Ms. Shripriya Sinha and Mr. Rajeev Kumar appeared for the Respondent.