Courts in Chennai — which one will hear your matter

Chennai has the widest spread of courts in the State: the Madras High Court sits here, alongside the City Civil Court, the Family Court, the Court of Small Causes and the metropolitan magistrate courts. Which one your matter goes to depends on the kind of dispute and, for civil suits, on the value of what is claimed.

Courts that sit in Chennai

Madras High Court	Writ petitions, appeals, and civil suits above the City Civil Court limit on the original side.
City Civil Court, Chennai	Civil suits — partition, declaration of title, injunction, money recovery — up to the prescribed value.
Family Court, Chennai	Divorce, maintenance, custody and other matrimonial matters.
Court of Small Causes, Chennai	Small money claims and certain tenancy-related matters.
Rent Authority and Rent Court	Tenancy registration and disputes under the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act, 2017.

Each Chennai court, one page each — what it hears and how to tell →

What is different about Chennai

The Madras High Court sits here, so writ petitions and appeals are filed in the city rather than travelling for them, and its original side hears the higher-value civil suits.
Civil suits are split by value between the City Civil Court and the High Court on its original side — the valuation of the plaint decides the forum before anything else is argued.
Family matters go to the dedicated Family Court rather than to a general civil court.
Tenancy matters under the 2017 Act are for the Rent Authority and the Rent Court, not the ordinary civil court — a distinction that catches out most first-time litigants.

Areas served

Consultations are held in chambers, by phone or by video. For anything urgent — an arrest, a lock being changed, a deadline — say so when you write, and the timing is arranged around it.

Guides for the matters heard here

How a partition suit actually worksPartition suit · 9 min read Injunction suits in ChennaiInjunction suit · 9 min read Someone will not vacate: Rent Court or civil court?Eviction · 8 min read Setting aside a settlement or sale deedNullifying a void deed · 10 min read Judicial separation — living apart without ending the marriageJudicial separation · 8 min read Child custody and visitationCustody & visitation · 10 min read Suits for declaration — protecting your titleDeclaration of title · 9 min read Money recovery suits in ChennaiRecovery suit · 10 min read Maintenance in Tamil NaduMaintenance proceedings · 11 min read Contested divorce in ChennaiContested divorce · 11 min read Mutual divorce: the six-month question, answeredMutual divorce · 8 min read The Rent Court in Tamil Nadu: how a tenancy dispute is actually decidedRLTOP application · 10 min read

Property & money recovery Family disputes Tenancy

If your matter is in Chennai, a paid consultation can tell you which court it belongs in before anything is filed.

₹500 for 30 minutes · in person, phone or video · Tamil or English

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