IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHADIGARH T.A. No. 208 of 2007 Date of decision : April 29, 2008 Smt. Garima Rani & Anr. .... Petitioner Versus Naresh Kumar .... Respondent Present : Mr. Anil Sharma, Advocate for the petitioners. Mr. P.R. Yadav, Advocate for the respondent. *** S.S. SARON, J. (ORAL) This petition under Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure has been filed by the petitioner-wife and the minor son of the parties seeking transfer of the petition (Annexure A-1) titled Naresh Kumar v. Smt. Garima Rani and anr. filed under Section 25 of the Guardians and Wards Act from the Court of learned Civil Judge (Senior Division) Rewari to Charkhi Dadri Distt. Bhiwani. The marriage between petitioner No.1 and respondent was solemnized on 24.01.1996 at Village Bahu Distt. Jhajjar. Matrimonial dispute arose between the parties and petitioner No.1 along with her minor son (Petitioner No.2) is at her parents home. Petitioner No.1 also initiated proceedings regarding commission of offence under Section 498-A IPC by the respondent. However, the matter was compromised and the respondent took the petitioners with him. After some time on 07.04.2005, the T.A. No. 208 of 2007 [2] respondent left the petitioners at Charkhi Dadri, Distt. Bhiwani and also filed a petition under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (“Act” - for short) for a decree of divorce. Thereafter, the respondent filed a petition under Section 25 of the Guardians and Wards Act for custody of the minor son (Petitioner No.2) which is pending in the Court of learned Civil Judge (Sr. Division), Rewari. Learned counsel for the petitioner contends that the petition (Annexure A-1) filed by the respondent under Section 25 of the Guardians and Wards Act is liable to be transferred in view of the provisions of Section 9(1) of the said Act. Besides, it is submitted that respondent is a quarrelsome person. Even otherwise, she would have to go to Rewari which is about 80 Kms from Charkhi Dadri. In response, learned counsel for the respondent has opposed the prayer and submitted that no ground is made out for transfer of the case from Rewari to Charkhi Dadri. It is submitted that the petitioner can easily travel to Rewari from Charkhi Dadri. After giving my thoughtful consideration to the contentions of the learned counsel for the parties, it may be noticed that in terms of Section 9(1) of the Guardian and Wards Act, it is provided that if an application with respect to the guardianship of the person of a minor is made, it shall be made to the District Court having jurisdiction in the place where the minor ordinarily resides. The minor (petitioner No.2) admittedly is residing at Charkhi Dadri, Distt. Bhiwani with his mother Smt. Garima Rani T.A. No. 208 of 2007 [3] (Petitioner No.1). This Court in Smt. Sunita Jain and others v. Mittar Sain Jain and anr , 2003 (1) PLR 641 held that the welfare of the children is to be seen. In the said case, the petitioner therein had shifted her residence to Rohtak. The custody of the children was with the petitioner. It was observed that the minors were not living at Bhiwani at the time of filing the petition. Therefore, the Court at Rohtak had the territorial jurisdiction to try the case. It was observed that the welfare of the children is of paramount consideration. In Pooja Bahadur v. Uday Bahadur, 1999 (3) RCR (Civil) 219 the Hon'ble Supreme Court transferred the case to the Guardian Judge at the place where the minors were residing. Therefore, it is evident that a petition seeking custody of the minor is ordinarily to be filed within the territorial jurisdiction of the Court where the minors are residing. In the circumstances, the case titled Naresh Kumar v. Smt. Garima Rani and anr. is withdrawn from the Court of Civil Judge (Sr. Division), Rewari and transferred to the Court of learned Addl. Civil Judge (Sr. Division), Charkhi Dadri Distt. Bhiwani. The parties shall appear before the transferee Court on 03.06.2008. The Transfer Application is disposed of. (S.S. SARON) JUDGE April 29, 2008 amit