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Akkireddy Nihaarika vs Akkireddy Karteek Kumar

Transfer Petition (Civil) · 2022 INSC 104Decided 27 Jan 2022
Transfer Petition (Civil) No. 1532 of 2020
Dr. Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud · Sanjiv Khanna

Background

The respondent-husband had filed a petition for restitution of conjugal rights (FCOP No. 875 of 2020) against the petitioner-wife before the Family Court at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The wife filed a transfer petition before the Supreme Court asking that this matrimonial case be moved to a court near Kothagudem, Telangana, presumably for her convenience.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court, having regard to the interests of justice, allowed the transfer petition and directed that the restitution-of-conjugal-rights proceeding be transferred from the Family Court at Visakhapatnam to the court of the Principal Senior Civil Judge/competent court at Kothagudem, Telangana. The Court also permitted both parties to seek to appear before the transferee court via video conferencing, and directed that the case records be transferred forthwith.

Lesson Learnt

The Supreme Court can transfer matrimonial and other civil proceedings between courts in different states where the interests of justice require it (commonly on grounds of a party's convenience or safety), and it may also allow video-conferencing appearances to ease the burden of attending a distant court.

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

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