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Tejalben v. Mihirbhai Bharatbhai Kothari

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 163 of 2016)Decided 11 Jan 2016
Civil Appeal No. 163 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

A divorce suit between the parties was pending before the Family Court at Rajkot. The wife (appellant) sought transfer of those proceedings to Jamnagar but the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad had dismissed her transfer application. She appealed to the Supreme Court by special leave.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court noted that other related proceedings between the same parties were already pending at Jamnagar, so there was no reason not to consolidate the divorce case there as well. It set aside the High Court's order dated 10.12.2014 and allowed transfer of the divorce proceedings from the Family Court at Rajkot to Jamnagar. The appeal was disposed of with no order as to costs.

Lesson Learnt

Courts will generally transfer a family dispute to a location where connected litigation between the same parties is already pending, to avoid duplication and inconvenience to the parties.

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

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