Kanchana Devi vs Devinder Anand & Others

Ajay Mohan Goel, J

Parties are present in person in Court. Learned counsel for respondents No.1 and 2 submits that respondent No.1 is willing to sit across the table and discuss the matter with the petitioner. However, petitioner, who is present in person submits that she is not interested in having the matter amicably resolved.

Accordingly matter has been heard on merit itself. Prayer made in this petition is for transfer of Criminal Proceedings initiated at the instance of the petitioner against respondents No.1 and 2 under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) DV Case No.22 of 2018, titled as Kanchana Devi vs. Devinder Anand etc., pending in the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Chamba, District Chamba, H.P. to the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kangra at Dharamshala, H.P. The ground taken in the present petition is that as no interim relief was granted in favour of the petitioner by the Court at Chamba, therefore, case be transferred to Dharamshala.

Having heard learned counsel for the parties and having perused the record, in my considered view this petition cannot be allowed.

The petition under Section 12 of the Act admittedly has been filed by the present petitioner at Chamba. In other words, it is not as if respondents filed a case against the present petitioner at Chamba and petitioner has approached this Court that as it is possible for her to defend herself at Chamba, therefore, the case be transferred to Dharamshala. Here the facts are that petitioner herself instituted a case at Chamba and now her contention is that because no interim relief has been granted to her by the learned Court at Chamba, therefore, matter be transferred to Dharamshala as it is not possible for her to pursue the case at Chamba. Simply because no interim relief has been granted to petitioner by the Court at Chamba, this is no ground for transferring the matter from Chamba to Dharamshala. It was the decision of the petitioner to file the case at Chamba. She was not forced by anyone to file the same at Chamba.

The purported hardship mentioned in the complaint, is not the primary reason for filing the present petition and as was borne out during the course of arguments also, the primary reason as to why this petition has been filed is that the petitioner was not able to obtain any interim direction in her favour from the Court at Chamba. I reiterate that on this ground, case filed by the petitioner at Chamba cannot be ordered to be transferred to the Court at Dharamshala. Accordingly, present petition, being devoid of any merit, is dismissed. Pending application(s), if any, also stand disposed of.