Madhya Pradesh High Court

Smt. Sheetal vs Shri Nilesh Pal on 1 April, 2025

Author: Dinesh Kumar Paliwal

Bench: Dinesh Kumar Paliwal

         NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2025:MPHC-JBP:15926




                                                                1                                MCC-104-2025
                              IN    THE       HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH
                                                    AT JABALPUR
                                                        BEFORE
                                      HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE DINESH KUMAR PALIWAL
                                                     ON THE 1 st OF APRIL, 2025
                                                 MISC. CIVIL CASE No. 104 of 2025
                                                            SMT. SHEETAL
                                                                Versus
                                                           SHRI NILESH PAL
                           Appearance:
                             Ms Ankita Khare - Advocate for the applicant.

                                                                 ORDER

Present petition has been filed by wife/applicant under Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure, who has prayed for transfer of her case bearing No.RCS HM 1522/2023 filed by respondent/husband u/s Section 13(1)(ia) of Hindu Marriage Act from the Court of Third Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Indore to the Court of Principal Judge, Family Court, Betul (M.P.).

2. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that applicant is facing difficulty in participation of the proceedings pending in the Court of Third Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Indore and it would be convenient to her to attend proceedings in the Family Court at Betul. It is submitted that the applicant has no

source of income and she is fully dependent on her old father. It is further submitted that the applicant has also filed application (MJCR No.306/2023) under Section 144 of BNSS, 2023 for grant of maintenance before the Court of Principal Judge, Family Court, Betul and the said case is pending adjudication there. In these circumstances, case No. RCS HM 1522/2023 filed by respondent/husband u/s Section 13(1)(ia) of Hindu Marriage Act, deserves to be transferred from the Court of Third Additional Principal Judge, Family Court,

NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2025:MPHC-JBP:15926

2 MCC-104-2025 Indore to the Court of Principal Judge, Family Court, Betul (M.P.). In support of her submissions, learned counsel placed reliance on decisions of Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Rajani Kishor Pardeshi Vs. Kishor Babulal Pardeshi -(2005) 12 SCC 237, Sumita Singh Vs. Kumar Sanjay -AIR 2002 SC 396, Vinisha Jitesh Tolani Vs. Jitesh Kishore Tolani-(2010) 5 SCC 748 and Shailey Vs. Pankaj Kumar Madne-(2012) 4 MPLJ 635 and order dated 21.06.2022 passed by co- ordinate bench of this Court in the matter of Shatakshi Dubey Vs. Amit Dubey in MCC No.1251/2022 and prays for transfer of petition from the Court of Third Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Indore to the Court of Principal Judge, Family Court, Betul (M.P.).

3. A co-ordinate Bench in Shailey Vs. Pankaj Kumar Madne (supra) has settled this issue. In that case, the applicant/wife had prayed for transfer of the divorce

case filed by the respondent/husband from the Family Court Bhopal to the Family Court at Gwalior. The petition was filed before the Bench at Gwalior, in which the aforesaid judgment came to be passed. After taking into consideration the provisions of Section 23 and 24 of the Civil Procedure Code and Clause-4 of Chapter-3 of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh Rules, 2008 which reads as under:

"Where a bench, in the Principal Seat at Jabalpur of the Benches at Indore or Gwalior, on an objection taken by the Registry or otherwise, is of the opinion that a main case posted before it, had arisen from a revenue district falling within the territorial jurisdiction of some other Bench or the Principal Seat, it may record its opinion and return the main case for its presentation at proper place for orders, after retaining one complete set of the main case."

4. Learned Single Judge arrived at an opinion that in such a case it would be the Bench under whose territorial jurisdiction the Court where the case is sought to be transferred from is situated, that would have the competence to hear the transfer

NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2025:MPHC-JBP:15926

3 MCC-104-2025 petition. Thus, in that case, the applicant therein was granted liberty to withdraw the case and file afresh before the Principal Bench at Jabalpur as per Clause-4 of Chapter-3 of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh Rules,2008. As the issue is no longer res integra , this Court is of the opinion that the appropriate Bench to hear and decide this case is the Bench at Indore.

5. At this juncture, learned counsel for the applicant has prayed that strict adherence to Clause-4 may be relaxed in this case as the applicant is a lady with limited resources and is unemployed and it would cause great hardship to her if she has to withdraw this petition and refile the same at Indore and instead has prayed that this petition itself be transferred by way of an order passed by this Court to the Indore Bench. The prayer is reasonable. Rules and procedures are hand-maidens to secure justice and wherever its strict enforcement is seen to cause oppressiveness to any of the parties without reasonable cause, the same may be relaxed. In this case, the applicant is a lady, who is unemployed, which itself goes to reflect that it would cause hardship to her if she has to withdraw the case and approach a lawyer to refile the same at Indore. Under these circumstances, Registry is requested to transfer this petition to the Indore Bench.

(DINESH KUMAR PALIWAL) JUDGE