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Abhilasha Gupta v. Harimohan Gupta

Transfer Petition (Civil) · 2021 INSC 546Decided 24 Sept 2021
Transfer Petition (Civil) No. 1027 of 2021
Justice Hima Kohli

Background

A husband had filed a divorce petition against his wife under the Hindu Marriage Act in a court in Susner, Madhya Pradesh. The wife filed a transfer petition in the Supreme Court asking that the case be moved to the Family Court at Kota, Rajasthan, presumably citing difficulty in travelling to Madhya Pradesh to attend proceedings. By the time the matter reached final hearing, the divorce case was already at an advanced stage: the husband's evidence was complete and only the wife's own testimony remained.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court declined to transfer the case, noting the divorce petition was already far advanced in Madhya Pradesh and the distance to the Family Court in Kota was relatively short (under 200 km). Instead of ordering a transfer, the Court directed the husband to pay the wife Rs. 4,000 for travel expenses for each hearing date she needed to attend in Madhya Pradesh, and vacated an earlier interim stay that had paused the proceedings.

Lesson Learnt

Courts will often refuse to transfer a case that is already at an advanced stage merely on grounds of travel inconvenience, preferring instead to order practical relief (like travel cost reimbursement) that lets the original case proceed without further delay.

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

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