Family Courts Act, 1964

From: 1964-07-18 - To: 0000-00-00 An Act to make provision for the establishment of Family Courts. Preamble.– WHEREAS it is expedient to make provision for the establishment of Family Courts for the expeditious settlement and disposal of disputes relating to marriage and family affairs and for matters connected therewith; It is hereby enacted as follows:- 1. Short title, extent and commencement.– (1) This Act may be called the [2][* * *] Family Courts Act, 1964. [3][(2) It shall extend to whole of the Punjab.] (3) It shall come into force in such area or areas and on such date or dates as Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, specify in this behalf. [4][(4) Nothing in this Act shall apply to any suit or any application under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, pending for trial or hearing in any Court immediately before the coming into force of this Act, and all such suits and applications shall be heard and disposed of as if this Act was not in force. (5) Any suit, or any application under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, which was pending for trial or hearing in any Court immediately before the coming into force of this Act, and which has been dismissed solely on the ground that such suit or application is to be tried by a Family Court established under this Act, shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any law, on petition made to it in that behalf by any party to the suit or application, be tried and heard by such Court from the stage at which such suit or application had reached at the time of its dismissal.] 2. Definitions.– [5][(1)] In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions shall have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say– (a) “Arbitration Council” and “Chairman” shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961; (b) “Family Court” means a Court constituted under this Act; [6][(c) “Government” means Government of the Punjab;] (d) “party” shall include any person whose presence as such is considered necessary for a proper decision of the dispute and whom the Family Court adds as a party to such dispute; (e)…