Family Law
Custody and guardianship, maintenance, domestic violence, adoption and succession matters before the Family Courts at Bangalore. Divorce and matrimonial dissolution is dealt with on a separate page.
The Family Courts at Bangalore
Family disputes in Bangalore are heard by the Principal Family Court and the Additional Family Courts constituted under the Family Courts Act, 1984. The Act was passed to secure a conciliatory approach in family matters, and Section 9 requires the court to make an effort at settlement before proceeding to trial. Procedure is less formal than in ordinary civil courts, and Section 13 limits the right to be represented by a legal practitioner as of right, though in practice courts routinely permit representation.
Family law in India is not a single code. It is governed by the personal law of the parties — Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Parsi — overlaid by secular statutes such as the Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 that apply irrespective of religion. Establishing which law governs is the starting point of any family matter.
Advocate Partha Sarkar
Family law matters are conducted personally by Advocate Partha Sarkar, an advocate enrolled with the Karnataka State Bar Council and practising at Bangalore for over twenty-five years. He appears before the Principal Family Court and the Additional Family Courts at Bangalore, the Magistrate Courts in maintenance and domestic violence proceedings, and the High Court of Karnataka.
Consultations are conducted in Bengali, Hindi, English and Kannada. Family matters are handled with confidentiality, and correspondence through this website does not create a lawyer-client relationship.
Child Custody & Guardianship
Custody is decided on the paramount consideration of the welfare of the child, a principle that overrides the ordinary legal rights of either parent. The court weighs the child's age, the existing emotional bond, the stability and continuity each parent can offer, schooling, and — where the child is of sufficient maturity — the child's own preference.
Guardianship petitions are brought under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, read for Hindus with the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956. Section 6 of the 1956 Act provides that custody of a child below the age of five ordinarily lies with the mother, though this too yields to welfare on the facts of the case.
Custody petitions before the Family Court
Guardianship petitions under the GWA 1890
Visitation and access arrangements
Interim custody applications
Habeas corpus in child removal cases
Modification of existing custody orders
Maintenance & Alimony
Maintenance may be claimed through more than one route, and the choice of forum matters. Section 125 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (formerly Section 125 CrPC) provides a summary remedy before the Magistrate for a wife, children or parents unable to maintain themselves, and it applies regardless of religion. Under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Section 24 provides maintenance pendente lite and Section 25 permanent alimony. Section 18 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 gives a Hindu wife a separate right to be maintained.
In Rajnesh v. Neha (2020) the Supreme Court laid down a comprehensive framework requiring affidavits of disclosure of assets and income in all maintenance proceedings, and gave guidance on overlapping claims and the date from which maintenance is to run.
Maintenance under Section 125 BNSS
Interim maintenance (Section 24 HMA)
Permanent alimony (Section 25 HMA)
Maintenance of children and parents
Enhancement and reduction applications
Execution of maintenance orders
Domestic Violence & Protection
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 provides civil remedies additional to any criminal proceeding. An application under Section 12 may seek a protection order restraining further acts of violence (Section 18), a residence order securing the right to reside in the shared household (Section 19), monetary relief (Section 20), custody of children (Section 21) and compensation (Section 22). Breach of a protection order is itself an offence under Section 31.
Criminal proceedings for cruelty by a husband or his relatives, formerly Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, now fall under Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 for offences committed on or after 1 July 2024. Both complainants and persons defending such allegations are represented.
Applications under Section 12 PWDVA
Protection and residence orders
Monetary relief and compensation
Cruelty proceedings (Section 85 BNS)
Dowry prohibition matters
Defence against false or inflated allegations
Succession, Adoption & Guardianship of Property
Intestate succession among Hindus is governed by the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. The 2005 amendment to Section 6 made a daughter a coparcener by birth in her own right on the same footing as a son, and in Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020) the Supreme Court held that this right accrues by birth and does not depend on the father being alive on the date of the amendment. Testamentary succession, probate and letters of administration are governed by the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
Adoption is effected either under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 or, for all communities, through the procedure under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and the CARA regulations.
Partition and inheritance disputes
Succession certificates
Probate and letters of administration
Will drafting and contested wills
Adoption deeds and JJ Act adoption
Family settlements and partition deeds
Applicable Laws: Family Courts Act 1984, Guardians and Wards Act 1890, Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act 1956, Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act 1956, Hindu Succession Act 1956, Indian Succession Act 1925, Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023.
Family Law — Frequently Asked
How does a court in Bangalore decide child custody?
The welfare of the child is paramount and overrides the ordinary rights of the parents. The court considers the child's age, the existing emotional bond, the stability and continuity each parent can offer, schooling, and — where the child is old enough to form an intelligent preference — the child's own wishes. Under Section 6 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, custody of a child below five years ordinarily lies with the mother, but even that presumption yields to welfare on the facts.
Can maintenance be claimed while the main case is still pending?
Yes. Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 allows either spouse to apply for maintenance pendente lite and the expenses of the proceeding where they have no independent income sufficient for their support. Separately, Section 125 of the BNSS provides a summary remedy before the Magistrate that operates independently of the matrimonial case. In Rajnesh v. Neha (2020) the Supreme Court required affidavits of disclosure of assets and income to be filed in all such proceedings, which has made the exercise considerably more structured.
What reliefs are available under the Domestic Violence Act?
An application under Section 12 of the PWDVA, 2005 may seek a protection order under Section 18, a residence order under Section 19 including the right to reside in the shared household, monetary relief under Section 20, custody of children under Section 21 and compensation under Section 22. The proceedings are civil in nature and can be pursued alongside a criminal complaint. Breach of a protection order is itself an offence under Section 31, punishable with imprisonment up to one year.
Do daughters have an equal share in ancestral property?
Yes. The 2005 amendment to Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 made a daughter a coparcener by birth in her own right, with the same rights and liabilities as a son. In Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020) a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court held that the right accrues by birth and does not depend on the father being alive on 9 September 2005, resolving the conflict between earlier decisions.
Is a lawyer permitted to appear in the Family Court?
Section 13 of the Family Courts Act, 1984 provides that a party is not entitled as of right to be represented by a legal practitioner, reflecting the Act's conciliatory design. In practice, however, the court may and routinely does permit representation, and may also engage a legal expert as amicus curiae. Section 9 obliges the court to attempt a settlement before proceeding to trial, so the early stage of a family matter is often directed at negotiation rather than litigation.