MUMBAI: Swati Chauhan, who was a principal judge of the Mumbai family court at Bandra, resigned as a Judge recently. She put in her papers after a Principal family court Judge from Nagpur was transferred to Mumbai and made the Principal Judge (PJ) replacing her, nine months after she was appointed to the post.
The Family Courts Act doesn't mandate a fixed period as a principal Judge.
A family court judge since 2011, Chauhan, joined the judicial services as a Junior Magistrate First Class (JMFC) in 2000 and had also been a magistrate for four years at the special court of human trafficking in Mazgaon, Mumbai.
On Wednesday, Chauhan, 53 confirming her departure said, "Yes, I have taken voluntary retirement from service as a judge."
Chauhan said she sent her letter for VRS to the Bombay high court registrar general in June, expressing surprise at a new PJ replacing her when the post was technically not vacant, and she was not due for a transfer to another family court. She said, "I was initially disheartened at having to step down, But then surrendered and opted for VRS."
On August 10, the law and judiciary department accepted her VRS on the recommendation of the HC, after 22 years of service.
Lawyers practising at the family court said as a Judge, Chauhan introduced several initiatives including a child friendly access room and a feeding room at the Bandra family court and played a key role in shaping the Pune family court new building when heading the Pune family court, besides conducting a special drive in which 1500 matrimonial matters got disposed of in Mumbai this March.
Advocate Sasi Nair, president of Bandra family court bar association, said the news about her resignation comes as a loss as he held her in "high regards'' as a judge. She had earlier while in Pune introduced a 'swayam siddha' project to empower women caught in lengthy matrimonial litigation for maintenance, to make them independent. She was "active as a judge, always working on ways to improve things,'' said Nair. Added another advocate Jalaja Nambiar, "She was impartial, be it petition by a husband or wife, with immense concern towards child's welfare.''
Swati Deshpande is Senior editor at The Times of India, Mumbai, w...
Read MoreSwati Deshpande is Senior editor at The Times of India, Mumbai, where she has been covering courts for over a decade. She is passionate about law and works towards enlightening people about their statutory, legal and fundamental rights. She makes it her job to decipher for the public the truth, be it in an intricate civil dispute or in a gruesome criminal case.
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