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Judgment
M.V. Muralidaran, J
This petition has been filed under Section 24 read with Section 151 of the Civil Procedure Code to transfer or initiate transfer proceedings of O.S. No.2 of 2014 from the file of the Civil Judge Junior Division, Ukhrul, Manipur to any other competent Court located in the valley of Imphal.
The facts in a nutshell are as under: According to the petitioners, there is a declaration suit, being O.S.No.2 of 2014, pending between the parties over a disputed land and in that suit, relief, inter alia, has been sought under Section 34 of the Special Relief Act, 1964 read with Section 9 of the Civil Procedure Code. It is the case of the petitioners that the said suit is pending at P.W. hearing stage.
It is the specific case of the petitioners that the respondents in cahoots with Secretary (In-charge), Law and Order Wing, Tangkhul Region (NSCN-IM) started to obstruct them and threatened them to withdraw the suit. It is the say of the petitioners that if the said suit is not prosecuted by them, they would be put to irreparable loss and hardship, inasmuch as land and forest is part of the life of the petitioners.
It is stated that the petitioners, by virtue of such threat, filed Judicial Misc. (T) Case No.1 of 2018 under Section 24 of the Civil Procedure Code for transfer or for initiation of transfer of O.S.No.2 of 2014 before the Court of District Judge, Ukhrul. However, by order dated 26.3.2018, the learned District Judge, Ukhrul, while observing that there is only one Civil Court under the District Court, Ukhrul, which is functioning both as the Civil Judge Junior Division and Civil Judge Senior Division, Ukhrul, held that the District Judge has no jurisdiction to entertain the application and directed the petitioners herein to approach the High Court under OrderXLVIRule1oftheCivilProcedure Code.
In such backdrop, the present petition is filed for the relief stated supra.
Heard the learned counsel on either side and perused the documents available on record.
Admittedly, the suit filed is for a declaration and the cause of action arose within the Court jurisdiction concerned where the suit has been filed. In fact, the suit has been filed before the learned Civil Judge Junior Division, Ukhrul, Manipur, which is the jurisdictional Court, and entire transaction took place within the jurisdiction of the said Court.
Section 24 of the Civil Procedure Code reads as follows:
"Section 24. General Power of Transfer and withdrawal:
(1) On the application of any of the parties and after notice to the parties and after hearing such of the mas desire to be heard, or of its own motion without such notice, the High Court or the District Court may at any stage.
(a)Transfer any suit, appeal or other proceeding pending before it for trial or disposal to any Court subordinate to it and Competent to try or dispose of the same, or
(b)Withdraw any suit, appeal or other proceeding pending in any Court subordinate to it, and
(i)Try or dispose of the same, or
(ii) Transfer the same for trial or disposal to any Court subordinate to it and competent to try or dispose of the same; or
(iii) Retransfer, the same for trial or disposal to the Court from which it was withdrawn.
(2) Where any suit or proceeding has been transferred or withdrawn under sub-section (1), the Court which is thereafter to try or dispose of such suit or proceeding may, subject to any special directions in the case of an order of transfer, either re-try it or proceed from the point at which it was transferred or withdrawn.
(3) For the purpose of this section,-
(a) Courts of Additional and Assistant Judges shall be deemed to be subordinate to the District Court;
(b) "proceeding" includes a proceeding for the execution of a decree or order.
(4) The Court trying any suit transferred or withdrawn under this section from a Court of Small Causes shall, for the purposes of such suit, be deemed to be a Court of Small Causes.
(5) A suit or proceeding may be transferred under this section from a Court which has no jurisdiction to try it."
In Kulwinder Kaur v. Kandi Friends Education Trust,(2008) 3 SCC 659, the Hon'ble Supreme Court had laid down the following general principles to exercise jurisdiction under Section 24 of C.P.C. to withdraw a pending suit and transfer to any other Court, in the following words:
"21.... So far as the power of transfer is concerned, Section 24 of the Code empowers a High Court or a District Court to transfer inter alia any suit, appeal or other proceeding pending before it or in any court subordinate to it to any other court for trial and disposal. The said provision confers comprehensive power on the court to transfer suits, appeals or other proceedings "at any stage" either on an application by any party or suo motu.
Although the discretionary power of transfer of cases cannot be imprisoned within a straitjacket of any cast-iron formula unanimously applicable to all situations, it cannot be gainsaid that the power to transfer a case must be exercised with due care, caution and circumspection.
Reading Sections 24 and 25 of the Code together and keeping in view various judicial pronouncements, certain broad propositions as to what may constitute a ground for transfer have been laid down by courts.
They are balance of convenience or inconvenience to the plaintiff or the defendant or witnesses: convenience or inconvenience of a particular place of trial having regard to the nature of evidence on the points involved in the suit; issues raised by the parties; reasonable apprehension in the mind of the litigant that he might not get justice in the court in which the suit is pending; important questions of law involved or a considerable section of public interested in the litigation; "interest of justice" demanding for transfer of suit, appeal or other proceeding, etc. Above are some of the instances which are germane in considering the question of transfer of a suit, appeal or other proceeding. They are, however, illustrative in nature and by no means be treated as exhaustive. If on the above or other relevant considerations, the court feels that the plaintiff or the defendant is not likely to have a "fair trial" in the court from which he seeks to transfer a case, it is not only the power, but the duty of the court to make such order."
The civil suits only lie before the jurisdictional Court concerned. In fact, the suit for declaration under Section 34 of the Special Relief Act, 1964 read with Section 9 of the Civil Procedure Code is to be filed only before the jurisdictional Court, since the cause of action arose only within the jurisdiction of the particular Court.
For filing a civil suit, cause of action is an essential ingredient and the jurisdiction so conferred on a Court is the basic structure of the suit itself. Therefore, the transfer of the civil suit from one Court to another Court is absolutely not possible, since the basic filing of the suit itself is only within the jurisdiction of the Court concerned.
In the case on hand, the petitioners have filed the present petition alleging that there is a threat from Secretary (In-charge), Law and Order Wing, Tangkhul Region (NSCN-IM).
On a fair reading of the grounds by way of affidavit filed by the petitioners, it appears that the allegations are baseless, inasmuch as no iota of evidence has been let in to substantiate the said allegations. Admittedly, the plaintiffs side witnesses are being examined and none of them have alleged any threat at the relevant time of examination. In fact, the petitioners have not produced any piece of paper complaining about the said threat to the Presiding Officer concerned or to the Police personnel for taking further action and/or for conducting any enquiry in that regard. If the allegations are true, the petitioners should have produced the relevant documents before this Court, but they have not produced any piece of paper before this Court to substantiate their claim for transfer the case, as prayed for.
That apart, if the suit is transferred from the jurisdictional Court to any other Court, then the entire basic structure of jurisdiction of the suits will be taken away. Then by showing this order as an yardstick, persons who are the parties to the other suits start seeking transfer of their suits for one or other reason, which cannot be permitted. This Court is not satisfied with the reasons stated by the petitioners for transferring of the suit. The petitioner has not made out any ground for transferring the suit, more so, any of the grounds stated in the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, referred supra. Therefore, this Court is not inclined to entertain this transfer petition.
In the result, this Transfer Petition is dismissed. The Court below is directed to dispose of suit in O.S.No.2 of 2014 within a period of six months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order without giving any unnecessary adjournments to either parties. No costs.