Janak Raj Jaggi alias Sunil vs Veena Rani

M.M. Punchhi, J. (Oral)

This is a petition for transfer of a maintenance petition from the Court of Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Kaithal, to any Court at Chandigarh.

The husband petitioner prays for transfer of the case on two grounds, namely, (i) that it is inconvenient for him to go to Kaithal to attend the proceedings and on occasions he has been physically molested by the relatives of the wife, and (ii) that it tends to be expensive as he has to spend Rs. 200/ to Rs. 300/ p.m. for defending the litigation at Kaithal. He has also highlighted his other obligations which are the maintenance of his three minor children and his old ailing mother living with him.

The wife in her counteraffidavit has denied any physical molestation of the husband, but has not denied that the three minor children born out of the wedlock are living with him. She has also pleaded that her father suffers from paralysis and cannot move about. She has further pleaded that she cannot attend the Court at Chandigarh.

There is another fact which has not been controverted. The husband has filed a petition for restitution of conjugal rights, which is pending in the Court of the Senior Subordinate Judge, Chandigarh.

The allegation of the petitioner that he was physical molested by the brother of the respondent or that he is apprehensive of ill treatment tat the hands of his wife and her brothers while at Kaithal remains unsubstantiated and can safely be ignored. However, the glaring facts which go in favour of the petitioner are that he is the more burdened one, in the sense that he has to attend to his office at Chandigarh being an Assistant working in the Directorate of Agriculture, Haryana, and has three minor children to look after, besides his aged old mother. Thus, he has more time to spend attending to office as well as his house. The respondent has no such obligations. Requiring her to attend the Court at Chandigarh once or twice a month is not likely to be burden some or bothersome to her, especially when she is already defending a petition for restitution of conjugal rights at Chandigarh. Thus, it would be convenient for the parties to have both the matters i.e. the maintenance application and the petition for restitution of conjugal rights, heard by one and the same Court. Thus, it is ordered that the maintenance application fixed in the Court of Shri P.C. Goel, Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Kaithal, be transferred to the file of the Senior Subordinate Judge, Chandigarh, and heard alone with the petition for restitution of conjugal rights.

This petition is accordingly allowed.