IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE THOMAS P.JOSEPH MONDAY, THE 29TH AUGUST 2011 / 7TH BHADRA 1933 TR.P(C).NO. 197 OF 2011() -------------------------------------- OP.89/2011 OF FAMILY COURT, KOTTARAKKARA .................... PETITIONER: -------------------- SUJA ,AGED 29 YEARS, D/O.PRABHAVATHI,SUJA BHAVAN, VLAPPETTY, SASTHAMKAVU,VITHURA ,THOLICODE VILLAGE, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. BY ADV. SRI.RAM MOHAN.G. SRI.G.P.SHINOD SRI.MANU V. RESPONDENT(S): ------------------------- VALSALA KUMAR,S/O.JALADHARAN,R/AT ASHOK BHAVAN,ELAVOOR, CHANNAPETTA(PO), CHANNAPETTA VILLAGE,PATHANAPPURAM TALUK, KOLLAM DISTRICT. ADV. SRI.ALEXANDER GEORGE FOR R1 THIS TRANSFER PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 29/08/2011, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING: TR.P(C) NO.197 OF 2011 APPENDIX --------------- PETITIONER'S EXHIBITS: ---------------------------------- ANNEXURE A A TRUE COPY OF PETITION FILED BY THE PETITIONER AS O.P. NO.543 OF 2010 BEFORE THE FAMILY COURT, NEDUMANGAD. ANNEXURE B A TRUE PHOTOCOPY OF O.P. NO.1055 OF 2010 BEFORE THE FAMILY COURT, NEDUMANGAD. ANNEXURE C A TRUE COPY OF THE PETITION FILED BY THE RESPONDENT AS O.P. NO.89 OF 2011 BEFORE THE FAMILY COURT, KOTTARAKKARA. RESPONDENT'S EXHIBITS: ----------------------------------- NIL TRUE COPY P.S. TO JUDGE THOMAS P.JOSEPH, J. ==================================== Tr.P(C) No.197 of 2011 ==================================== Dated this the 29th day of August, 2011 O R D E R This petition is filed by the wife seeking transfer of O.P. No.89 of 2011 from Family Court, Kottarakkara to Family Court, Nedumanagad. That is a petition filed by the respondent-husband for a declaration of title over property situated within the territorial jurisdiction of Family Court, Kottarakkara. Petitioner- wife is a resident of Vithura, in Thiruvananthapuram District while respondent is a resident of Pathanapuram in Kollam District. It is stated that petitioner has already filed O.P. Nos.543 and 1055 of 2010 in Family Court, Nedumangad against respondent- husband for various reliefs. Petitioner states that she has two children aged 7 and 4 years, she finds it difficult to travel all the distance from her place of residence to Family Court, Kottarakkara to contest the case if O.P. No.89 of 2010 is continued to be there and that convenience required that all the cases are disposed of by the same court. 2. Petition is opposed by the respondent. Learned counsel submitted that the property involved in O.P. No.89 of 2011 is situated within territorial jurisdiction of Family Court, Kottarakkara Tr.P(C) No.197 of 2011 -: 2 :- and hence request for transfer may not be permitted. 3. The Supreme Court in Sumitha Singh v. Kumar Sanjay and another (AIR 2002 SC 396) and Arti Rani v. Dharmendra Kumar Gupta ([2008] 9 SCC 353) has stated that while considering request for transfer of matrimonial proceedings convenience of the wife has to be looked into. That of course does not mean that inconvenience of the husband has to be ignored. It is not disputed that petitioner-wife, aged 29 years is residing at Vithura which is near to Family Court, Nedumangad. Petitioner has to travel a long distance from her place of residence to Family Court, Kottarakkara to contest the case. She has two children aged 7 and 4 years. It is not disputed that two other proceedings are pending in Family Court, Nedumangad and in connection with that, respondent has to attend that court. No request is so far made to transfer those proceedings on any ground whatsoever. Convenience of parties required that all the cases are disposed of by the same court. Having regard to the circumstances stated I am inclined to think that the comparative hardship is more on petitioner if the request for transfer is not allowed. The inconvenience that may be caused to respondent can be reduced by permitting him to Tr.P(C) No.197 of 2011 -: 3 :- appear in the transferee court through counsel except when his physical presence is required. Hence I am inclined to allow the petition. Resultantly, the Petition is allowed in the following lines: (a) O.P. No.89 of 2011 pending in Family Court, Kottarakkara is withdrawn from that court and made over to Family Court, Nedumangad for trial and disposal. (b) The transferor court while transmitting records of the case to the transferee court shall fix the date for appearance of parties in the transferee court with due intimation to the counsel on both sides. (c) Family Court, Nedumangad shall ensure that O.P.89 of 2011 (transferred to it) and O.P.Nos.543 of 2010 and 1055 of 2010 (pending in that court) are posted as far as possible on the same dates. Tr.P(C) No.197 of 2011 -: 4 :- (d) It is made clear that except when physical presence of respondent in the transferee court is necessary, he can appear through counsel. All pending interlocutory applications will stand dismissed. THOMAS P. JOSEPH, JUDGE. vsv