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Judgment
K.T. Sankaran, J.—The Petitioner, the wife of the Respondent, prays for transferring OP No. 1241 of 2010 pending before the Family Court, Thrissur to the Family Court, Ernakulam.
The Respondent instituted OP No. 1241 of 2010 on the file of the Family Court, Thrissur for declaring the marriage as null and void. The Petitioner filed three cases before the Family Court, Ernakulam, namely, 1) OP No. 25 of 2011 for dissolution of marriage 2) OP No. 85 of 2011 for realisation of money and 3) M.C. No. 15 of 2011 for maintenance. All these three cases filed against the Respondent are also pending.
The marriage was solemnized within the jurisdiction of the Family Court, Kottayam. The Petitioner is residing at Thevara in Ernakulam. In the Transfer Petition it is stated that the Respondent is employed in Dubai. The learned Counsel for the Respondent submitted that the Respondent has permanently come back from Dubai and at present he is residing at Thrissur.
The Petitioner states that if the case is tried before the Family Court, Thrissur, she would be put to great inconvenience as there is nobody to accompany her to Thrissur. The parents of the Petitioner are aged, says the Petitioner. It is also alleged that the Respondent and his family members have considerable influence in the locality. The Petitioner apprehends physical and mental harm to her if she were to appear before the Family Court, Thrissur.
The Respondent has filed a counter affidavit in which he has opposed the prayer for transfer. It is contended that the three cases pending before the Family Court, Ernakulam, were filed in a court having no jurisdiction. According to the Petitioner, only the Kottayam court or Thrissur court would have jurisdiction. For the purpose of deciding this Transfer Petition, it is not necessary to decide the question of jurisdiction of the Family Court, Ernakulam in respect of the three cases filed by the Petitioner.
In this Transfer Petition, the only question to be considered is whether the Original Petition filed by the Respondent is liable to be transferred to the Family Court, Ernakulam. For that purpose it is not necessary that the Family Court, Ernakulam should have jurisdiction to try the case u/s 19 of the Hindu Marriage Act. It is sufficient if the court has competence to try and dispose of the case. There is no dispute that the Family Court, Ernakulam has the competence to try the case.
The Supreme Court in Sumitha Singh v. Kumar Sanjay and Anr. (2001) 10 SCC 41, Mangla Patil Kale Vs. Sanjeev Kumar Kale, and Rajwinder Kaur Vs. Balwinder Singh, held that the inconvenience caused to the wife, if no transfer is made, should be taken note of.
Taking into account the comparative hardship that would be caused to the parties if the case is transferred and if it is not transferred, I am of the view that the hardship that would be caused to the Petitioner would be more if no transfer is made.
In the facts and circumstances of the case, the Transfer Petition is allowed. O.P. No. 1241 of 2010 pending before the Family Court, Thrissur shall stand transferred to the Family Court, Ernakulam. The Family Court, Thrissur shall transmit the records to the Family Court, Ernakulam. The parties shall appear before the Family Court, Ernakulam on 27.6.2011.