The Kerala High Court has directed all the Family Courts to release arrears amount deposited towards maintenance under the orders of the High Court or otherwise as early as possible calling the reluctancy of Lower Court Judges to be a 'bad practice'.

The single-judge bench of Justice A. Badharudeen withholding the amounts is detrimental to the interest of the claimants.

"It is noticed that when arrears of maintenance being deposited before the Family Courts in obedience to the order/interim order or otherwise, Family Courts are reluctant to release the amount deposited to the claimants and unwantedly insist for orders from this Court to release the amount. It appears to be a bad practice which is detrimental to the interest of the claimants. In fact, it is the duty of the Family Courts to release the amount deposited within no time to the respondents, so as to help them for their survival."

The Court, in view of aove observation directed the Family Court to release the amount deposited in this case, within three days, on receipt of copy of this order, without fail and report compliance of the same.

Since it is noticed that this is the procedure that has been following in almost all the Family Courts, all Family Court Judges are directed to release the amount deposited towards arrears of maintenance under the orders of this Court or otherwise to the claimants at the earliest, it added.

It was further ordered that when amounts are deposited, being part of arrears of maintenance, the Family Court shall immediately secure the presence of the claimant/claimants, after contacting them through their lawyers or in the telephone numbers of the claimants, if available in the office, and shall release the amount directly to the parties, without effecting deposit of the same in the treasury and to put the claimants in further trouble.

If such way of payment of the amount is not feasible, despite having opted the procedures herein above referred, then the amount can be deposited in accordance with law, the Court noted.

The Court made it clear that the amount, if any, deposited towards arrears of maintenance, with rider not to release the amount, such amount alone shall not be released in view of this direction.

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