Shahida Bi vs Moin Khan

The wife has filed the present petition under Section 24 of CPC for transferring divorce petition filed by the husband before the A.D.J. Court,

Nagda.

Submission of the learned counsel for the petitioner is that the wife is alone taking care of her minor daughter and is staying at present in Mandsaur,

which is 110 kilometers away from Nagda. There is no other family member to accompany her to travel from Nagda to Indore. She has no means to

bear expenses of defence as well as of travel. Even this petition has been filed with the aid of counsel appointed through legal aid. Two cases filed by

the wife under Section 125 Cr.P.C. and Domestic Violence Act are already pending in Mandsaur and the respondent is attending them, therefore, he

has no difficulty in attending the 3rd case also while the wife has several difficulties in attending and defending the divorce petition before the Court in

Nagda, therefore, the case pending before Nagda Court be transferred to the Court of competent jurisdiction situated in Mandasur.

Learned counsel for the respondent submitted that the petition filed under Section 125 Cr.P.C. has been disposed off by the Family Court,

Mandsaur vide order dated 16/08/2018. Claim of wife has been dismissed while the maintenance is awarded in favour of minor daughter. Similarly, the

complaint filed under Section 12 of the Domestic Violence Act has been disposed off by the concerned Judicial Magistrate First Class vide order

dated 09/1/2019. Thus, no case, initiated by the wife/petitioner is pending before any Court in Mandsaur.

Further it is proposed that the respondent is ready to bear all the expenses incurred by the petitioner in engaging a counsel or travelling from

Mandsaur to Nagda. She does not require to attend each and every date and only once she is required to give statement, while the respondent was to

prosecute the case and attend the Court proceedings in each and every date, therefore, relative hardship is in favour of the respondent and it would be

appropriate to direct the petitioner to attend the proceedings of divorce petition in Nagda Court.

Learned counsel for the respondent has placed reliance on Anindita Das vs. Srijit Das reported in (2006) 9 SCC 197.

I have considered rival contentions of the parties and have perused the record.

On considering the relative hardship to be faced by the parties and in the wake of facts stated and proposed made by the learned counsel for the

respondent, in the considered opinion of this Court, the petition has no merits, liable to be and is dismissed hereby.

However, the respondent is directed to bear all expenses incurred by the petitioner in travelling to and fro Nagda to her residence along with the

expenses of one companion, besides he will pay Rs.5,000 â€" 5000/- in 2 installments, one at the time of statement of the respondent before the ADJ

Court, Nagda and second at the time of final argument.

With the aforesaid, petition stands dismissed and disposed off to the extent indicated herein above.