HC asks for response of central, UT govts

Srinagar: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on Friday issued notice to the Government of India and the Government of Jammu and Kashmir in a plea moved by advocates challenging Section 13 of the Family Courts Act, 1984, for being violative of Article 19 of the Constitution of India.

Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey directed respondents to file response by 6 October after a plea moved by Advocates Aijaz Bedar, Rafiq Ahmad Joo and Bilal Ahmad Wani through senior counsel Zaffar Ahmad Qureshi submitted that the constitutionality of Section 13 of the Family Courts Act, 1984, which seeks to prohibit representation by a legal practitioner, needs to be examined in the context of Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution of India.

It was submitted before court that for placing a complete prohibition on any professional activity, there must exist some strong reason for the same with a view to attaining some legitimate object.

Counsel Qureshi further submitted that Section 19(1) (g) gives right to the petitioners to profess even while providing the legal services to the litigants who litigate before the court, including the Family Courts.

It was pleaded by the counsel that Section 13 of the Act of 1984 prohibits the petitioners from appearing before Family Courts for representing any of the litigating parties, and that the restrictions imposed by Section 13 of the Act of 1984 are not only arbitrary but also directly in violation of the interests of the litigants.

The petitioners sought a direction from the court to the effect of allowing them to represent the parties in the disputes covered under Section 7 of the Act of 1984 before the Family Courts.

NUSRAT SIDIQ