In short. The family court appeal process in Delhi High Court begins once your appeal is e-filed: the Registry checks it, and it is listed as a MAT.APP.(F.C.) before a Division Bench, usually within a few weeks. At the first hearing the bench decides on delay, notice and any stay. Mediation, the trial court record and replies follow, and contested appeals commonly take one to four years. It concerns spouses and parents who have appealed, or been served with an appeal, against a Delhi Family Court decree. Next step: track the listing and prepare for the first hearing.
Is this your situation?
- You have just filed an appeal against a divorce, custody, alimony or restitution decree of a Delhi Family Court and want to know what comes next.
- Your lawyer says the appeal has objections or is waiting to be listed, and you are unsure what that means.
- Your spouse has filed an appeal against a divorce decree you won, and you want to know whether you can remarry.
- The Division Bench has issued notice, or sent you to mediation, and you do not know how long this will take.
- You live abroad or outside Delhi and need to know which hearings you must attend.
- Interim maintenance or visitation is a pressing issue while the appeal is pending.
Key points
- A Division Bench hears it. Section 19(6) of the Family Courts Act requires a family court appeal to be heard by a bench of two or more judges; in Delhi it is registered as MAT.APP.(F.C.).
- Late appeals need a separate application. The limit is 30 days under Section 19; if you filed late, the bench first decides whether to condone the delay.
- Filing does not suspend the decree. A divorce, custody or alimony decree stays in force unless the bench grants a stay, so apply for one at the first hearing if you need it.
- Expect mediation. Many family appeals are referred to the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre, and a large share settle there.
- Plan for months, not weeks. Simple appeals can end within a year; a contested appeal commonly takes one to four years from filing to judgment.
The family court appeal process after filing: the short answer
After you file, the family court appeal process in Delhi High Court moves through five broad phases: scrutiny by the Registry, a first hearing before a Division Bench, service on the other side and requisition of the trial court record, mediation or replies, and the final hearing. Most of the waiting happens between the first hearing and the final hearing, while the record arrives, the other side replies, and the matter waits its turn on the bench's list.
The first hearing is the most important date for most appellants. That is when the bench decides whether to condone any delay, whether to issue notice or dismiss the appeal at once, whether to stay the decree, and whether to send the parties to mediation. What happens on that day often shapes how the next two years go.
This guide is about what happens after the appeal is filed. Whether you should appeal at all, and on what grounds, is covered in our guide on whether you can appeal a divorce decree, and the overall remedy is explained on our page on appeals against Family Court orders in the Delhi High Court.
MAT.APP.(F.C.) in Delhi High Court: what the case number means
A family court appeal in the Delhi High Court is registered under the case type MAT.APP.(F.C.), short for Matrimonial Appeal (Family Court). Your case number will look like MAT.APP.(F.C.) 245/2026. Applications inside the appeal, for condonation of delay, stay or interim maintenance, get separate CM APPL numbers. Until the case is registered, the filing is tracked by a diary number.
The appeal is heard by a Division Bench of two judges, because Section 19(6) of the Family Courts Act requires it. The Delhi High Court assigns MAT.APP.(F.C.) matters to particular Division Benches through its roster, which changes from time to time. Appeals against judgments of all the Family Courts in Delhi, at Tis Hazari, Saket, Karkardooma, Rohini, Dwarka, Patiala House and Rouse Avenue, come to these benches. Our page on Delhi's Family Courts explains where those courts sit and what they decide.
This is a private law firm website and not the Delhi High Court's official site. The court's own website gives official case status, cause lists and orders. Our guide on checking Delhi High Court case status shows how to find your MAT.APP. by number, diary number or party name.
From filing to judgment: the stages of a family court appeal
The order below is typical. Some stages overlap, and urgent custody matters can move faster.
Scrutiny and objections
The Registry checks the e-filed appeal for defects: missing certified copy of the judgment and decree, unsigned affidavits, incomplete court fee, illegible pages or a missing index. Objections are shown online and must be cured and the appeal refiled.
Listing before the Division Bench
Once objections are cleared, the appeal is listed before the Division Bench holding the MAT.APP.(F.C.) roster, usually within one to four weeks. Urgent matters, such as a child about to be taken abroad, can be mentioned for early listing.
First hearing
The bench hears the appellant's lawyer on delay, maintainability and the need for interim relief. It may dismiss the appeal, issue notice to the respondent, grant or refuse a stay, and often asks whether the parties will try mediation.
Service and trial court record
Notice is served on the respondent, increasingly by email and messaging as well as by post. The bench usually directs the Family Court to send its record (the TCR), which contains the pleadings, evidence and exhibits.
Mediation or replies
If the bench refers the parties to the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre, sessions are held over one to three months. If mediation fails or is not tried, the respondent files a reply to applications and, where relevant, cross-objections.
Admission and waiting for final hearing
The appeal is admitted and placed in the list of regular matters for final hearing. This is the longest phase. The bench may hear interim applications in the meantime.
Final hearing and judgment
Both sides argue the appeal on the record, often with short written submissions. The bench may pronounce judgment at once or reserve it. It may dismiss the appeal, allow it, modify the decree, or send the case back to the Family Court.
At every stage, keep your contact details current with your lawyer. Notices and listing information arrive by email and SMS, and a missed listing can lead to the appeal being dismissed for non-prosecution.
How long each stage usually takes (typical ranges, not promises)
| Stage | Typical time | Court fee and expenses (general terms) |
|---|---|---|
| Registry objections and refiling | A few days to three weeks | Court fee on a family appeal is modest; check the current schedule |
| First listing before the Division Bench | One to four weeks after objections are cleared | None beyond appearance |
| Service on the respondent and requisition of the trial court record | One to four months | Process fee and small service charges |
| Mediation, if referred | One to three months of sessions | Mediation at the High Court centre involves modest charges; check current rates |
| Replies, cross-objections and interim applications | One to six months | Affidavit and copying expenses |
| Waiting for final hearing | Six months to three years, depending on the roster | None |
| Final arguments and judgment | One or two hearings; judgment may be reserved for weeks or months | Written submission and paper book costs |
| Total for a contested appeal | Commonly one to four years | Lawyer's fees are discussed at the first meeting and agreed in writing, stage by stage |
Registry objections and refiling: the first weeks
Almost every new appeal gets some objection from the Registry. Common ones are a missing certified copy of the decree (as opposed to the judgment), wrong page numbering, an affidavit not attested properly, a court fee shortfall, or the impugned judgment not being placed in the right part of the paper book. These are clerical problems, but they matter.
An appeal that sits with objections for weeks is not yet before the court. If it was filed close to the 30-day deadline, the delay in refiling may also have to be explained, and the bench can ask why it took so long. Ask your lawyer to check the online status every day or two in this phase, cure objections the same week, and tell you once the appeal is refiled.
If you have filed beyond 30 days, the appeal must carry an application for condonation of delay with an affidavit giving dates and reasons. In 2023 the Delhi High Court held that the 30-day limit in Section 19 of the Family Courts Act applies to these appeals, not the 90 days once allowed under the Hindu Marriage Act. Delay can be condoned for sufficient cause, but the explanation must be specific: when you received the copy, when you met a lawyer, what held you up.
The first hearing before the Division Bench
At the first hearing, usually held in hybrid mode, only the appellant's side is normally present unless the respondent has filed a caveat. The bench will have read the impugned judgment and the grounds of appeal. Expect questions, not a speech: why the Family Court was wrong, what evidence it ignored, and what you want the bench to do now. A focused answer helps. A long account of the marriage does not.
The bench may decide the condonation application first. If it refuses, the appeal ends there. If the delay is condoned, or there was none, the bench usually issues notice to the respondent and may grant interim relief. In a small number of cases where the appeal has no real ground, the bench dismisses it at once.
Many benches ask on the first day whether the parties will try mediation. Advocate B.K. Singh advises clients to decide this before the first hearing, and to know their own realistic terms on alimony, custody or the house, because the bench often refers the matter there and then. A client who has thought it through can say yes or no sensibly; one who has not may agree to a referral without any idea what a settlement would look like.
Stay and interim arrangements while the appeal is pending
Filing an appeal does not suspend the Family Court's decree. A divorce decree remains in force, a custody order remains binding, and an alimony decree can be executed unless the bench stays it. If you need a stay, file a stay application with the appeal and press it at the first hearing.
Remarriage is the issue that most worries respondents. Under Section 15 of the Hindu Marriage Act a divorced person may lawfully remarry only when the time for appeal has expired with no appeal filed, or an appeal has been filed and dismissed. Once an appeal against a divorce decree is pending, remarriage carries real legal risk until the appeal is decided, whether or not the decree has been stayed.
Money and children are dealt with on applications. The bench can direct payment of maintenance while the appeal is pending, usually on the basis of the income and asset affidavits required under Rajnesh v. Neha (2020); our guide on interim maintenance and how fast you can get it explains how these amounts are worked out. Stay of an alimony decree is often granted only on deposit of part of the amount. In custody appeals, the bench may adjust visitation or video calls during the appeal; the child's welfare governs, as explained in our guide on whether the Delhi High Court can change a custody order.
Whatever interim order is passed, comply with it. A party who is in breach of a maintenance or visitation order when the appeal comes up for final hearing starts at a disadvantage.
The trial court record and the paper book
A family court appeal is a first appeal on facts and law, so the Division Bench can look at the whole evidence again. For that it needs the trial court record (TCR): the petition, written statement, documents, depositions of witnesses and orders of the Family Court. The bench usually calls for it at the first or second hearing, and it can take one to three months to arrive.
Do not rely on the record alone. Ask your lawyer to obtain certified copies of the depositions and key exhibits from the Family Court early, so that the paper book filed in the High Court includes the evidence your appeal depends on. Arguments go much better when the bench has the exact page of the cross-examination in front of it.
New evidence is allowed only in limited cases under Order 41 Rule 27 of the Code of Civil Procedure, such as evidence that could not be produced earlier despite due diligence. A party who wants to bring in a new document, a new medical report or proof of the other side's income must file a separate application and explain why it was not produced before.
Mediation and settlement during the appeal
Referral to the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre is common in family appeals, and a large share of matrimonial disputes settle there. Mediation is voluntary in outcome: no party is forced to agree, and what is said in mediation is confidential. Sessions are held in person or online, and the mediator meets both sides separately as well as together. Our guide on settling family disputes at the Delhi High Court Mediation Centre describes what happens in the room.
If the parties settle, the bench can record the settlement and dispose of the appeal on its terms. Settlements often include a one-time alimony figure, return of streedhan, custody and visitation arrangements, and withdrawal of other cases between the parties. Where the dispute is about a divorce decree, the bench can in suitable cases grant a decree of divorce by mutual consent in the appeal itself, so the parties do not have to start again in the Family Court. Any connected criminal cases may then need a separate petition for quashing on settlement.
If mediation fails, the appeal simply returns to the bench and continues. Nothing said in mediation can be used against you in the hearing.
The final appeal hearing in a family matter: what the bench looks at
At the final hearing, the bench hears the appellant first, then the respondent, then a short reply. Each side points to the evidence: the cross-examination where a witness conceded something, the documents the Family Court overlooked, the legal standard it misapplied. Benches commonly ask for a short written synopsis with page references, and a well-prepared synopsis can save a hearing.
The bench asks whether the Family Court's findings are supported by the evidence and the law. It does not readily overturn a finding that depended on the trial judge's view of a witness, because the trial judge saw the witness and the bench did not. It is more willing to interfere where the Family Court ignored material evidence, applied the wrong legal test for cruelty or desertion, or decided custody without considering the child's welfare properly.
Judgment may be pronounced in court at the end of arguments or reserved and delivered later, sometimes after several weeks. Once delivered, it is uploaded on the court's website and a decree is drawn up.
If you are the respondent: what happens on your side
If your spouse has appealed a decree you won, you will receive notice of the appeal by post, email or messaging, with a copy of the appeal papers. Note the next date and give the papers to a lawyer promptly. If you expected an appeal, you could have filed a caveat in the High Court so that no interim order is passed without hearing you.
You can file a reply to the stay and other applications, and, if you are unhappy with part of the decree, such as the amount of alimony, cross-objections under Order 41 Rule 22 CPC within the time that rule allows after service. Do not assume the decree is safe because you won below. Prepare as seriously as the appellant does, including your own synopsis and copies of the evidence that supports the Family Court's findings.
Until the appeal is decided, the decree remains in force unless stayed, but act carefully on it, particularly on remarriage, sale of a shared house, or relocating a child. A step taken in reliance on a decree that is later reversed can be very hard to undo.
Papers to keep ready while the appeal is pending
- Certified copies of the Family Court judgment and the decree
- The filed appeal paper book with its index and the diary or case number
- Certified copies of depositions and the key exhibits from the Family Court
- Income and asset affidavits filed below, updated with current salary slips, income tax returns and bank statements
- Proof of compliance with interim orders: maintenance payments, visitation records, school fee receipts
- Any fresh document you may need to seek leave to produce under Order 41 Rule 27
- Passport and visa details if you live abroad, for online appearance and affidavits
- A short note of dates of every hearing and what was ordered
Do you need to attend hearings? Parties in Delhi, outside Delhi and abroad
For most hearings, the lawyers appear and the parties need not. The Delhi High Court's hybrid system allows lawyers and parties to join by video, and many family appeals are argued entirely online. The bench may, however, direct the parties to appear personally, in court or by video, especially for mediation, for an interaction with a child in a custody appeal, or to record a settlement.
For parties living abroad, affidavits and vakalatnamas can be signed before an Indian consular officer or a notary with apostille, and mediation sessions can often be attended online at a time that suits both time zones. Our guide on how NRIs can handle divorce cases in Delhi without travelling covers these formalities.
When a personal appearance is directed, treat it as essential. Advocate B.K. Singh tells clients that judges notice which party is present and engaged in a family appeal, particularly where children are involved, and that a missed personal appearance can cost both goodwill and time.
A made-up example: a custody and alimony appeal from Saket
Here's a made-up example. Neha, a bank officer in Gurugram, was granted divorce by the Family Court at Saket on the ground of cruelty, with custody of their seven-year-old son and permanent alimony of a lump sum payable by her husband Rohit, a software engineer. Rohit files an appeal on day 27, challenging the custody finding and the alimony amount, with an application to stay the alimony.
The Registry raises two objections about page numbering and a missing certified copy of the decree; they are cured in a week. At the first hearing, about three weeks after filing, the Division Bench issues notice, refuses to stay the decree outright, but directs Rohit to deposit half the alimony with the Registry within six weeks. It continues his weekend visitation and adds two video calls a week, and refers the parties to mediation.
Mediation runs for two months and fails on the alimony figure, though the parties agree a holiday schedule for the son, which the bench records. The trial court record arrives, Neha files replies and cross-objections on the alimony, and the appeal is admitted and placed in the regular list. The final hearing takes place about two years after filing. The bench upholds the divorce and custody and slightly increases the alimony on Neha's cross-objections. The deposit is released to her, and Rohit pays the balance.
What slows a family court appeal, and how to avoid it
- Objections left uncured. An appeal sitting with defects is not before the court; cure them in days, not weeks.
- Vague delay applications. A condonation application without dates and documents invites a refusal or a further adjournment.
- Incomplete paper books. If depositions and exhibits are missing, the bench may adjourn until the trial court record arrives or copies are filed.
- Non-compliance with interim orders. Unpaid maintenance or skipped visitation leads to applications and hearings that push the main appeal back.
- Fresh cases filed during the appeal. New complaints and petitions between the same parties add hearings and make settlement harder.
- Missing the listing. Appeals can be dismissed for non-prosecution if no one appears; restoring them takes another application.
After judgment: what happens next
Once the Division Bench decides the appeal, the decree it passes replaces or confirms the Family Court's decree. If the appeal is dismissed, the Family Court's decree stands, and a divorced party can remarry once the time for further challenge has passed or any such challenge has ended, subject to advice on the facts. If the bench sends the matter back to the Family Court, the case resumes there on the points the bench has identified.
There is no further appeal within the High Court. A party who is still aggrieved can file a special leave petition in the Supreme Court under Article 136, usually within 90 days of the judgment; our guide on going to the Supreme Court against a Delhi High Court judgment explains how. A review before the same bench is possible only for an error apparent on the face of the record. Maintenance orders under Section 144 BNSS (old Section 125 CrPC) follow a separate revision route, covered on our page on maintenance revision in the Delhi High Court.
Money ordered in the appeal, such as alimony or arrears of maintenance, can be executed in the Family Court if not paid. Deposits made with the Registry during the appeal are released on an application under the bench's directions.
What to do this week
Check the online status of your appeal and ask your lawyer whether any objections remain. If the first hearing is coming up, decide what interim order you need, whether a stay, maintenance or a change in visitation, and if you would try mediation, on what terms. Collect certified copies of the depositions and exhibits from the Family Court now rather than waiting for the trial court record.
If you are the respondent, note the next date, file a caveat if no notice has reached you yet, and do not take irreversible steps on the decree. For a fuller picture of the remedy, see our page on family court appeals in the Delhi High Court. For advice on your appeal papers or for updates on the law, you can contact Advocate B.K. Singh.
Frequently asked questions
How soon will my family court appeal be listed in Delhi High Court?
Once the Registry's objections are cleared, a family court appeal is usually listed before a Division Bench within one to four weeks. Urgent matters, such as a threatened removal of a child from India, can be mentioned for earlier listing.
Can the Division Bench dismiss my appeal on the first day?
Yes. If the delay is not condoned, or the bench finds no arguable ground in the appeal, it can dismiss the appeal at the first hearing without issuing notice. That is why the first hearing needs careful preparation.
Does my spouse have to reply to the appeal?
The respondent is not obliged to file a written reply to the appeal itself, because the appeal is decided on the trial court record. Replies are usually filed to applications such as stay or maintenance, and cross-objections if the respondent wants part of the decree changed.
Can new evidence be filed in a family court appeal?
Only with the bench's permission under Order 41 Rule 27 CPC, for example where the evidence could not be produced earlier despite due diligence. A separate application with reasons is needed.
Can we settle after the appeal is admitted?
Yes. Parties can settle at any stage before judgment, through the High Court mediation centre or directly. The bench can record the settlement and, in suitable cases, pass a mutual consent divorce decree in the appeal.
What happens if I miss a hearing in my family appeal?
If no one appears for the appellant, the appeal may be dismissed for non-prosecution. It can usually be restored on an application showing sufficient cause, but this costs time, so keep your lawyer informed.
Can I withdraw my family court appeal?
Yes, an appellant can ask the bench to allow withdrawal of the appeal. If withdrawal is part of a settlement, the terms should be recorded in the order so they can be enforced.
Are family court appeal hearings held in open court?
Matrimonial matters can be heard in camera when the court directs, and benches often avoid naming parties in published judgments. Mediation sessions are always confidential.
Advocate B.K. Singh
Founder of B.K. Singh & Associates. MCA, LL.B., LL.M. More than twenty years in practice before the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court, Delhi district courts and tribunals. This guide was written and reviewed by his team.
This guide explains the law in general terms and is not legal advice. For advice on your own papers, contact the team.
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