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Judgment
C.S Dias, J
The transfer petition is filed under Sec.24 of the Code of Civil Procedure, seeking to transfer O.P No.676/2021 (Annexure-A1) from the Family Court, Palakkad to the Family Court, Ettumanoor.
The petitioners’ case, in brief, in the memorandum of transfer petition is that, they are the daughters of the respondent. The respondent is a Government servant, who is working as a Livestock Inspector in Kozhinjampara. The petitioners and their mother were residing in a rental house at Palakkad. The respondent is a chronic alcoholic. He has abandoned the petitioners and the mother. He has refused to maintain them. As the petitioners were residing at Palakkad with their father, they have filed Annexure A1 before the Family Court, Palakkad. Now, the petitioners and their mother have been sent out from the rental house at Palakkad. They have sought refuge in the parental home of the petitioners’ mother at Vaikom. The petitioners are students. It is impossible for them to travel from Vaikom to Palakkad to contest Annexure A1. Moreover, the respondent is residing at Kottayam. Hence, the transfer petition.
Heard; Smt.Reshma.M.S, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioners. Even though notice has been served on the respondent, there is no appearance for him.
The learned counsel appearing for the petitioners has drawn the attention of this Court to OP (Div) No.448/2022 (Annexure A5), which is filed by the respondent against the petitioners’ mother, before the Family Court, Ettumanoor, for a decree of divorce. In the said original petition, the respondent has shown his address as Kottayam. Therefore, no prejudice and hardship would be caused to him if Annexure A1 is transferred to the Family Court at Ettumanoor.
The law with respect to transfer of proceedings, particularly matrimonial disputes, is no longer res-integra, in view of the categoric declaration of law by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Sumitha Sing V. Kumar Sanjay and another [2002 KHC 1889], Mona Aresh Goel V. Aresh Satya Goel [2000 KHC 1835], Vaishali Shridhar Jagtap V. Shridhar Vishwanath Jagtap [2016 KHC 6489], Santhini V. Vijaya Venkatesh [2017 (5) KHC 48] and N.C.V Aishwarya vs. A.S Saravana Karthik Sha [2022 (5) KHC 182]. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has held that it is the convenience of the woman and children that has to be looked into, while ordering the transfer of a case from one Court to another.
In the light of the law laid down in the afore-cited decisions, the uncontroverted pleadings and materials on record, the totality of the facts and circumstances of the case, especially the fact that the respondent himself has filed OP (Div) No.448/2022 before the Family Court, Ettumanoor, against the mother of the petitioners and that he is contesting the proceeding there, I am inclined to exercise the discretionary powers of this Court under Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure and order the transfer of Annexure-A1, so that the cases can be consolidated and jointly tried, which would avoid conflict of decisions and save precious judicial time.
In the result, I allow the transfer petition as follows:
(i) O.P No. 676/2021 is transferred from the Family Court, Palakkad to the Family Court, Ettumanoor.
(ii) The parties would be at liberty to move the Family Court, Ettumanoor and seek for consolidation and joint trial of all the cases between them.
(iii) The Registry shall forward a copy of this order to the Family Court, Palakkad with instructions to forthwith transmit the records in Annexure-A1 to the Family Court, Ettumanoor.
(iv) The Family Court, Ettumanoor, shall, immediately on the receipt of the records in Annexure-A1,post the case along with OP (Div) 448/2022.