Family court lauds couples who have reconciled

A family court here celebrated Valentine's Day by felicitating bickering couples who had reconciled after court intervention, and asked them to share their reunion stories at a seminar. Students of city-based Raheja Arts College then made sketches of 15 such couples and presented them to the pairs as a reminder of their love.

These couples, who had filed or were headed to a divorce, came to terms after the court machinery, right from counsellors to lawyers to judges, took efforts to bring them together.

The court has been celebrating Valentine's Day by felicitating reconciled couples for more than five years.

Senior advocate Saajan Oomen said, "When we receive divorce petitions, our first intent is to save the marriage. This exercise is performed every step of the legal procedure. And it has yielded positive results, as last year we were successful in reconciling over 290 couples."

Principal Judge Mangala Thakare said, "It gives me immense pleasure if I see even one couple withdrawing their divorce petition and walking back to their married lives."

Several couples thanked the court for their newfound love. Richa and Anil (names changed on request) said they were on the verge of separating, but the court helped them fix it. "The court has taken a lot of efforts to hold family values in place."

Another couple, Balkrishna and Meena Gawde, said they didn't realise that differeces could be resolved. "We learned that it is essential that you don't hurt your significant other," said Meena.