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Milap Choraria v. Sanjay Kumar Jhunjhunwala

Transfer Petition (Civil) · Neutral citation not assigned (Transfer Petition (Civil) No. 644 of 2012)Decided 5 May 2017
Transfer Petition (Civil) No. 644 of 2012
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice R. Banumathi

Background

The petitioner, appearing in person, sought transfer of a civil suit pending before the Calcutta High Court (filed against him by the respondent) to Delhi, citing his ill health, advanced age, and an alleged threat to his life. He separately filed a writ petition under Article 32 alleging a failure by authorities to investigate what he described as a criminal conspiracy between politicians and private parties against him, seeking directions for an inquiry.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court found no special reason to transfer the suit, noting the petitioner had actively litigated multiple cases in Kolkata before filing the transfer petition and that the cause of action arose there. It also declined the petitioner's request to use its special Article 142 power to dismiss the underlying suit as frivolous, holding that such issues must be raised and decided by the trial court itself. The transfer petition was accordingly dismissed, with a direction that if a preliminary objection to maintainability is raised, it should be tried first. The connected writ petition under Article 32 was also dismissed for want of any special reason to entertain it, leaving the petitioner free to approach the High Court instead.

Lesson Learnt

The Supreme Court will not transfer a case away from the court where the dispute actually arose merely on account of inconvenience, and it will not use its special constitutional powers to short-circuit questions, like whether a suit is frivolous or maintainable, that are properly for the trial court to decide first.

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

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