Pushpalatha W/O T Basavaraja vs T Basavaraja S/O T Thippeswamy

H.T. Narendra Prasad, J

This petition under Section 24 of CPC is filed by the petitioner-wife seeking for transfer of M.C.No.120/2022 pending on the file of Senior Civil Judge and JMFC, Challakere to the Principal Judge, Family Court, Chitradurga.

The petitioner is the legally wedded wife of the respondent. After the marriage, the petitioner was residing with her husband at her matrimonial house, Gowdigere Village. As matrimonial disputes arose between the parties, the petitioner started living separately with her parents. Thereafter, the respondent-husband filed a divorce petition under Section 13(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act in M.C.No.120/2022 before the Senior Civil Judge and JMFC, Challakere. The petitioner also filed Crl.Misc.Nos.139/2012, 602/2015, 389/2018, 170/2019, 354/2020 and 151/2021 seeking maintenance. The case of the petitioner is that since the petitioner is residing at Chitradurga, it would cause great inconvenience and hardship for her to travel a distance of 50 kms to Chitradurga to prosecute the case. Hence, she filed the present petition seeking for transfer of case.

The learned counsel for the petitioner-wife contended that petitioner has to take care of her aged parents and minor child aged 11 years. She has no other family members or relatives to accompany or assist her in traveling to Challakere, which is at a distance of 50 Kms, to prosecute the case. Moreover, she does not have any source of income. Therefore, if the petition is not transferred, it would cause great inconvenience and hardship to the petitioner-wife. Hence, the learned counsel sought for allowing the petition.

Respondent is served and unrepresented.

Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner. Perused the petition papers.

It is not in dispute that the petitioner is the legally wedded wife of the respondent. After the marriage, the petitioner was residing with her husband at her matrimonial house, Gowdigere Village. As matrimonial disputes arose between the parties, the petitioner started living separately with her parents. Thereafter, the respondent-husband filed a divorce petition under Section 13(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act in M.C.No.120/2022 before the Senior Civil Judge and JMFC, Challakere. The petitioner filed Crl.Misc.Nos.139/2012, 602/2015, 389/2018, 170/2019, 354/2020 and 151/2021 seeking for maintenance. Since the petitioner is residing at Chitradurga and has to take care of her aged parents and minor child aged 11 years and as she has no other relatives or family members to accompany or assist her, it would be difficult for her to travel a distance of 50 Kms to Challakere to prosecute the case.

This Court in the case Smt.M.V.Rekha v. Sri Sathya @ Suraj - ILR 2010 KAR 5407 at Paragraph No.15 has held as hereunder:

"The cardinal principle for exercise of power under Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure is that ends of justice demand the transfer of the suit, appeal or other proceeding. In matrimonial matters, wherever Courts are called upon to consider the plea of transfer, the Courts have to take into consideration the economic soundness of either of the parties, the social strata of the spouses and behavioural pattern, their standard of life antecedent to marriage and subsequent thereon and the circumstances of either of the parties in eking out their livelihood and under whose protective umbrella they are seeking their sustenance to life. Generally, it is the wife's convenience which must be looked at while considering transfer. Further, when two proceedings in different Courts which raise common question of fact and law and when the decisions are interdependent, it is desirable that they should be tried together by the same Judge so as to avoid multiplicity in trial of the same issues and conflict of decisions (See Smt.NandaKishori v. S.B.Shiua Prakash AIR 1993 Kar 87, Sumita Singh v. Kumar Sanjay and Anr. MANU/SC/0936/2001:AIR 2002 SC 396 and Smt.Swarna Gouri v. Sri Vinayak Pujar MANU/KA/7130/2007 : ILR 2007 Kar 4561."

(emphasis supplied)

Therefore, taking note of the inconvenience as made out by the petitioner and the law laid down in the case of Smt.M.V.Rekha (supra), which provides that convenience of the wife is an aspect that is to be taken note of while considering the transfer petitions, petition deserves to be allowed. Accordingly, the following order is passed:

ORDER

a) The petition is allowed.

b) The case in M.C.No.120/2022 pending on the file of Senior Civil Judge and JMFC, Challakere is hereby withdrawn and transferred to the Principal Judge, Family Court, Chitradurga.

c) The transferor Court is hereby directed to transmit the entire records to the transferee court.

d) The transferee court after hearing the parties is directed to dispose of the said case as expeditiously as possible and in accordance with law.