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Parul Jaiswal v. Avinash Jaiswal

Transfer Petition (Civil) · 2021 INSC 603Decided 4 Oct 2021
Transfer Petition (Civil) No. 2189 of 2019
Justice S. Ravindra Bhat

Background

Parul Jaiswal (the wife) filed a transfer petition seeking to move her divorce proceedings, filed by her husband, Avinash Jaiswal, before the Family Court in Bengaluru, to a court of competent jurisdiction in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, citing the difficulty of contesting the case so far from home.

Decision Breakdown

Instead of simply granting or refusing the transfer, the Supreme Court directed that the parties first be referred to mediation, to be conducted online over the following 10 weeks, during which the Bengaluru Family Court would not proceed with the case on merits. If the mediation succeeded, the Family Court would pass orders reflecting the settlement; if it failed or remained inconclusive, the Family Court would resume the proceedings after the 10-week period, continuing to conduct hearings online for the parties' convenience. The Court further directed that whenever the wife's personal presence was required at a hearing in Bengaluru, the husband must pay her Rs. 10,000 for each such date to cover her cost of attending. The transfer petition was disposed of in these terms.

Lesson Learnt

Even where a spouse asks for a case to be transferred to a more convenient court, the Supreme Court may instead direct structured, time-bound mediation (including online, to ease travel burden) before deciding the transfer question, and can order practical cost-sharing arrangements, like travel/attendance compensation, to make continued litigation fairer for the disadvantaged party.

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

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