TA No.160 of 2010 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH TA No.160 of 2010 Date of decision : 26.05.2011 Smt. Som Lata ...Applicant Versus Raj Pal ...Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JITENDRA CHAUHAN Present: Mr. Ashwani Bakshi, Advocate for the applicant. Respondent ex parte. JITENDRA CHAUHAN, J. (Oral) 1. The present application has been preferred by the applicant- wife under Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure, praying for the transfer of the petition titled as ‘Raj Pal Vs. Smt. Som Lata’, filed by the respondent under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (for short `the Act'), from the Court of learned Additional District Judge, Chandigarh, to the Court of competent jurisdiction at Sirsa. 2. The learned counsel contends that the present petition filed by the respondent is a counterblast to the criminal complaint filed by the applicant in May, 2009. The applicant is residing and serving at Sirsa whereas, the respondent is not in any employment. 3. Despite service, nobody has caused appearance on behalf of TA No.160 of 2010 2 the respondent. Accordingly, the respondent is proceeded against ex parte. 4. I have heard the learned counsel for the applicant and perused the record. 5. Hon'ble the Supreme Court in Neelam Kanwar vs Devinder Singh Kanwar, 2001(1) M.L.J. 509 (SC), has observed as under:- “We are mindful of the fact that the petitioner is a lady and first respondent is a male, and, therefore, for convenience of wife, a transfer to the place where the lady is residing, would be preferred by this Court unless, it is shown that there are special reason not to do so. No special reason is shown.” 6. Smt. Som Lata, the applicant-wife, is residing at Sirsa. The respondent-husband filed a petition under Section 13 of the Act, which is pending before learned Additional District Judge, Chandigarh. The fact that the applicant is serving at Sirsa, is a strong circumstance in favour of the applicant particularly, when the husband is not in any employment. 7. Considering the fact that the applicant is a resident of Sirsa and primarily, the convenience of the wife is to be seen, therefore, in my opinion, the balance of convenience is in favour of the applicant- wife and against the respondent. 8. In view of the above, the instant transfer application is allowed and the petition under Section 13 of the Act titled as ‘Raj Pal TA No.160 of 2010 3 Vs. Smt. Som Lata’ is withdrawn from the Court of learned Additional District Judge, Chandigarh, and is transferred to the Court of competent jurisdiction at Sirsa. The entire record pertaining to the petition under Section 13 of the Act shall be sent by the trial Court at Chandigarh to the learned District Judge, Sirsa, within three weeks, who will either himself dispose it of or entrust it to any other Court of competent jurisdiction. 9. The parties shall appear before the Court of learned District Judge, Sirsa, on 26.05.2011. 26.04.2011 (JITENDRA CHAUHAN) atulsethi JUDGE Note : Whether to be referred to Reporter ? Yes / No