The High Court of Karnataka on Friday said there was no legal basis for the practice adopted by some family courts in the State insisting on the personal presence of litigants at the time of filing of case. “Their personal presence is not required when a petition is presented by an advocate as an authorised representative of the petitioner or petitioners... In the same way, when a notice of proceedings filed in the family court is served, on the returnable date the family court cannot insist on the personal presence of the respondent when the respondent enters appearance through a legal practitioner as an authorised agent,” the court said. “The petitioner can file a petition in the family court through an advocate acting as an authorised agent. Presence of complainantWhen a written complaint as contemplated by Section 190 (1)(a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) is filed and when the complainant is represented by an advocate, the courts of magistrate cannot insist upon the personal presence of the complainant at the time of filing of complaint.

Source: The Hindu June 05, 2020 14:49 UTC