Nagpur: The promise of “till death do us part” is facing an unsettling test in the city. Fresh data obtained under the Right to Information Act by activist Abhay Kolarkar from the Nagpur Family Court paints a deeply worrying picture of rising marital breakdowns.
In 2025 alone, 3,952 divorce petitions were filed, a sharp surge from 2,596 cases in 2024. The spike translates to nearly 11 couples knocking on the doors of the court every day. The numbers signal not just a statistical rise but a troubling shift in the stability of urban family life.
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The burden on the judiciary has intensified dramatically. Though the court granted 1,767 divorces and disposed of or dismissed 1,085 cases in 2025, the influx of new petitions has outpaced the system’s ability to ease the backlog. As of January 2026, a staggering 7,668 matrimonial cases remain pending, despite the court managing to clear more cases than it received in the first month of the year.
Behind every file lies a fractured relationship, and often, children and extended families caught in the crossfire. Between January 2023 and January 2026, over 3,386 couples were referred to professional mediation in an attempt to salvage their marriages. Yet the outcome offers little comfort. Only 255 couples, roughly 7.5 per cent, chose reconciliation. The data suggests that once a dispute escalates to litigation, the possibility of rebuilding trust becomes painfully slim.
A senior marriage counsellor with four decades of experience attributes the trend to changing lifestyles and emotional disconnect. In an increasingly fast-paced world driven by financial pursuits and digital distractions, couples are spending less meaningful time together. According to the counsellor, overexposure of personal disputes to third parties often aggravates tensions rather than resolving them. External interference, social media interactions and growing impatience fuelled by constant digital engagement are emerging as silent contributors to marital discord.
“There is no structured premarital counselling system in Nagpur,” the counsellor observed, warning that many separations could be prevented through early guidance. Lack of trust, insecurity and hypersensitivity over minor issues, including online interactions, are frequently cited triggers. The erosion of patience and communication, they added, is turning small disagreements into irreversible decisions.
An advocate with 38 years of practice at the Family Court echoed concerns over the mounting caseload, noting that internal challenges further complicate matters. The court currently functions with only five marriage counsellors against a sanctioned strength of ten, operating at 50 per cent capacity in a department critical for reconciliation efforts. This shortfall may be limiting the depth and speed of mediation processes at a time when intervention is most needed.
Interestingly, custody disputes remain comparatively limited. Over the past three years, only 14 cases resulted in mothers being granted custody through court intervention, indicating that while marriages are dissolving at an alarming rate, extended legal battles over children are less frequent.
For a city once synonymous with cultural warmth and close-knit families, the sharp rise in divorce filings raises uncomfortable questions about the evolving pressures on modern relationships. The 2025 figures stand as a sobering reminder that beneath the surface of urban growth and aspiration, many homes are quietly grappling with emotional strain, and the cost is being counted in courtrooms.
