The Supreme Court recently comprising of a bench of Justice V. Ramasubramanian while modifying an earlier 'wrong' order it had passed in a transfer petition remarked that the Family Court cannot deal with a criminal complaint for various offences under the Indian Penal Code. (Sunita Manoj Sinh V. The State Of Maharashtra & Ors.)
Facts of the case
The court had, earlier this year, allowed a Transfer Petition 'as prayed for'. But, there was a defect in the prayer. The defect in the prayer was that the petitioner was seeking transfer of the criminal case registered under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code from the Court of the Judicial Magistrate, Thane, Maharashtra, to the Family Court, Vadodara, Gujarat. Since, the Family Court does not have jurisdiction to try the criminal cases under the Indian Penal Code, the Family Judge, Vadodara, Gujarat has written a letter to the Registry and that letter has been treated as a Miscellaneous Application and is placed before this Court.
Contention of the Parties
The learned counsel for the Respondent contended that it is the petitioner’s own making and that the petitioner made a wrong prayer in the Transfer Petition, I do not think that the operative portion of the order passed in the Transfer Petition can be allowed to stand. The Family Court, as a matter of fact, cannot deal with a criminal complaint for various offences under the IPC. A wrong order of the Court cannot be allowed to stand on the ground that one of the parties invited the same.
Courts Observation & Judgment
The court allowing the application remarked, “Therefore, Miscellaneous Application is allowed and the order dated 24.03.2021 shall stand modified with a direction to transfer the criminal proceedings to a competent court in Vadodara, Gujarat as directed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Vadodara. If the Family Court, Vadodara has already received the file of the transferred case, the same shall be sent to the Chief Judicial Magistrate for allotment of the same to the competent Court. Pending applications, if any, stand disposed of.”
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