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Mamta v. Kailash Chand Agrawal

Transfer Petition (Civil) · 2021 INSC 768Decided 22 Nov 2021
Transfer Petition (Civil) No. 2460 of 2019
Justice B.V. Nagarathna

Background

Mamta, the wife, filed a transfer petition under Section 25 of the Code of Civil Procedure seeking to move a divorce case filed by her husband, Kailash Chand Agrawal, under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act from a court in Sirohi, Rajasthan to a court in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, where she resides. Despite being served notice, the husband did not appear or respond to the petition.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court noted that the distance of about 237 km between the two courts made it genuinely difficult for the wife to travel and defend the case, and that the husband had not contested the transfer despite being served. Finding the request just and appropriate, the Court allowed the petition and transferred the divorce case to the Additional Civil Judge & JMFC, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Lesson Learnt

A spouse can seek transfer of a matrimonial case to a court closer to their residence on grounds of genuine travel hardship, and such requests are more readily granted when the other side does not contest them.

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

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