M/S. Himalaya Distilleries Limited vs. Urmila Pradhan
Background
In October 2021, the Supreme Court had earlier ordered that a title suit be transferred from its original venue to the District Court at Siliguri, West Bengal. However, the District Judge at Sikkim reported back that there was, in fact, no District Court at Siliguri, so the earlier transfer order could not be carried out as directed.
Decision Breakdown
With both sides' senior counsel agreeing that a Court of Senior Civil Judge did exist at Siliguri and could try the matter, the Supreme Court modified its earlier order accordingly, directing that the suit instead be transferred to the Court of the Senior Civil Judge, Siliguri, West Bengal, and disposed of the miscellaneous application on that basis.
Lesson Learnt
Even a Supreme Court transfer order can be practically modified when the destination court named turns out not to exist, showing that courts remain flexible to correct purely administrative or logistical impossibilities in their own earlier orders.