Best Divorce Case Lawyer in Karkardooma Court Delhi

Kerala High Court: In an intra-court transfer appeal arising from an order allowing transfer of a matrimonial original petition from one Family Court to another at the instance of the wife, the question was whether, at an advanced stage of trial, such transfer could be justified on the ground that the wife practices at the Court where the case was pending. The Division Bench of Sathish Ninan and P. Krishna Kumar*, JJ., set aside the transfer order, and held that transferring matrimonial case to another court at such an advance trial stage was unsustainable, highly unjustified and improper, particularly in view of the mediated settlement wherein both parties had agreed to cooperate for an expeditious disposal before the same court.

Analysis and Decision

The Court noted that in the transfer petition, the wife stated that it would be serious prejudice to her in participating in the trial at the Kollam Court Centre, which was her workplace, and that the distance from her residence to Punalur, the court to which transfer was ordered, was 50 kilometres, whereas the distance from the husband’s residence to Punalur was only 40 kilometres. The Court further noted that both sides admitted that the case had reached its final stage and only recording of evidence followed by final arguments was left.

The Court observed that the wife was represented by counsel of her choice before the trial court, and the husband’s counsel undertook that recording of evidence through a Commissioner could be arranged if the wife experienced any inconvenience or embarrassment in appearing before the Court, thereby minimising the necessity for personal appearance, particularly since conciliation and mediation had already concluded.

The Court opined that, after the proceedings had progressed up to the stage of trial, transfer to another court was highly unjustified and improper. The wife’s grievance existed even on 3 December 2024, when the case was posted for evidence, and the same could be addressed by appointing a Commissioner for recording evidence. The Court highlighted that under the mediated settlement agreement, the wife had expressly agreed to cooperate with the proceedings before the Family Court, Kollam, for expeditious disposal of the case, and had there been any objection to facing trial there, such an agreement would not have been entered into.

The Court agreed that the transfer petition was filed only after securing the fruits of the compromise agreement and that it resulted in further delay in disposal of the petition instituted by the husband. The Court referred to Vidhya Mundekkat v. Akhilesh Jayaram, 2021 SCC OnLine Ker 5122, wherein the Supreme Court observed that a transfer cannot be claimed by the wife in any case as a matter of course merely by pleading inconvenience.

Accordingly, the Court, while allowing the appeal, held that the order transferring the case at this advanced stage was unsustainable and liable to be set aside.

Advocate Devashish Maharishi | Best divorce case lawyer in karkardooma Court Delhi

Top lawyer for Contested Divorce case, Restitution of Conjugal Rights, Domestic violence case, CAW cell Complaint case, Quashing petition and for Mutual Consent Divorce case in Delhi

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