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Aarati Kumari v. Sanjeev Kumar Singh

Transfer Petition (Civil) · 2021 INSC 601Decided 4 Oct 2021
Transfer Petition (Civil) No. 232 of 2018
Justice S. Ravindra Bhat

Background

A wife filed a transfer petition in the Supreme Court seeking to move her husband's divorce case (pending before the Family Court in Varanasi) to the Family Court in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, closer to where she was located. The Court first referred the couple to its Mediation Centre to see if they could settle the dispute amicably, but mediation failed. With no settlement reached, the Court proceeded to decide the transfer request on its merits.

Decision Breakdown

Finding the wife's request for transfer justified on the facts and circumstances on record, the Supreme Court allowed the petition and transferred the divorce case from the Family Court, Varanasi to the Family Court, Muzaffarpur. It directed the Varanasi court to send the complete case record to Muzaffarpur immediately, instructed the receiving court to fix hearing dates convenient to both parties (especially the husband, who would now have to travel), and directed that the transferred case be decided within one year. The Registry was asked to communicate the order to both courts by email.

Lesson Learnt

A spouse facing genuine hardship in attending matrimonial court proceedings at a distant location can ask the Supreme Court to transfer the case to a more convenient court, especially after mediation has been attempted and failed.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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