IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AND CHANDIGARH Crl. Misc. No. M- 7508 of 2008 Date of decision: January 6, 2009 Rajwant Kaur ….. Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and another ….. Respondents Present: Mr. L.S. Sidhu, Advocate for the petitioner. Mr. P.S. Sidhu, Addl. A.G., Punjab for respondent No.1. Mr. P.S. Ahluwalia, Advocate for the complainant/respondent No.2. *** S.S. SARON, J. Heard counsel for the parties. The petitioner by way of the present petition under Section 407 read with Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (“CrPC” – for short) seeks transfer of the case titled State v. Ranjit Singh pending in the Court of learned Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Dasuya to the Court of competent jurisdiction at Budhlada, District Mansa. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner has submitted that the petitioner is residing at Village Boha, Tehsil Budhlada, Distt. Mansa and therefore, it is difficult for her to go to Dasuya to attend the hearing of the case and pursue the litigation. Reliance is placed on the orders dated 30.1.2006 (Annexure P2) and 05.9.2006 (Annexure P3) passed by this Court whereby the petitions tilted Rajwant Kaur v. Ranjit Singh under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act and Section 7 read with Section 25 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 respectively were transferred by this Court to the Court of competent jurisdiction at Mansa. Crl. Misc. No. M- 7508 of 2008 [2] In response, learned counsel appearing for the State has submitted that all official witnesses are from jurisdiction of Police Station Tanda where the FIR was registered and therefore, it would be difficult for all the witnesses to depose at a far of place like Mansa. Learned counsel appearing for the complainant (respondent No.2) has submitted that the petitioner is to appear in the Court at Dasuya only for one date for deposing and for the said date, it is submitted that the petitioner shall be paid reasonable amount of compensation towards her travel and other expenses. After giving my thoughtful consideration to the matter, it may be noticed that the FIR for the offence under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code (“IPC” – for short) has been registered at Police Station Tanda which is attached with the Court of Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Dasuya. The investigation was carried out by the Police of Police Station Tanda and therefore, the official witnesses who are to depose in the case are all from Tanda. The petitioner as well as the complainant (respondent No.2) have to appear in the case for deposing in the Court at Dasuya. For the said purpose, learned counsel for the complainant (respondent No.2) has submitted that the complainant is willing to pay the petitioner a reasonable amount of compensation towards her travel and other expenses for one date for which she is to appear in the Court. The orders dated 30.1.2006 (Annexure P2) and 05.9.2006 (Annexure P3) on which the reliance has been placed by the learned counsel for the petitioner are in respect of civil proceedings under the Hindu Marriage Act and under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 respectively. The scope of inquiry in the said cases is somewhat different from the present case which is a State case on a Police report (challan) filed by the police. In the present case, the official witnesses are of Police Station Tanda and it would be more easier to them to depose before the Court at Dasuya which is nearby. Besides, the petitioner can be awarded cost for travelling to Dasuya. Crl. Misc. No. M- 7508 of 2008 [3] In the circumstances, the ends of justice would be met if the trial of the case is allowed to continue at Dasuya itself and the petitioner is paid lump sum cost of Rs.3500/- for travelling and going to Dasuya for deposing. Accordingly, the Crl. Misc. petition seeking transfer of the case from the Court of Dasuya to the Court of competent jurisdiction at Mansa is dismissed. However, the complainant (respondent No.2) shall pay an amount of Rs.3500/- to the petitioner for her to travel to the Court at Dasuya for deposing before the said Court. The learned Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Dasuya shall also make every effort and endeavour to record the statement of the petitioner on the date for which she is summoned. (S.S. SARON) JUDGE January 06, 2009 amit