Travel inconvenience and apprehension alone do not warrant transfer of pending matrimonial proceedings.

The petitioner sought transfer of H.M.O.P. No. 563 of 2024 from the Family Court, Tiruppur, and D.V.C. No. 51 of 2023 from the Judicial Magistrate, Additional Mahila Court, Tiruppur, to Pudukottai or a competent court at Trichy.

He relied on the inconvenience of travelling from Aranthangi to Tiruppur and an alleged incident at the Tiruppur court premises on 22 May 2025, which he said caused apprehension about attending there.

Both parties’ counsel stated that settlement was not possible and that their clients were prepared to contest the proceedings on merits.

The High Court considered the transfer petitions together because they arose from the same matrimonial dispute.

1. Whether the petitioner’s travel-related inconvenience and apprehension following the alleged court-premises incident justified transferring the pending matrimonial and domestic-violence proceedings from Tiruppur.

2. Whether the proceedings should instead continue at Tiruppur with directions for fair and expeditious disposal.

The order cites no particular statutory provision or judicial precedent.

It applies the general principle that transfer is not warranted merely on the basis of an asserted apprehension where the proceedings are pending before competent courts and the parties have been participating in them; the court may address concerns about fairness by requiring proceedings to be conducted according to law and by directing expeditious disposal.

The Court noted that the proceedings were already pending before competent Tiruppur courts and that the petitioner had appeared on several occasions.

It held that the alleged incident, by itself, did not justify transfer. Given that both parties intended to contest the cases on merits, transfer at that stage would likely cause further delay rather than serve the ends of justice.

The Court considered that the petitioner’s apprehension could be addressed through directions ensuring fair proceedings and adequate opportunity for both parties, and it directed the courts to endeavour to dispose of the matters expeditiously.

The Family Court, Tiruppur, was directed to take up H.M.O.P. No. 563 of 2024 and M.C. No. 79 of 2023, and the Judicial Magistrate, Additional Mahila Court, Tiruppur, was directed to take up D.V.C. No. 51 of 2023, and endeavour to dispose of them as expeditiously as possible, preferably within four months of receiving the order, without unnecessary adjournments.

The parties were directed to cooperate; the Court expressed no view on the merits, and the connected miscellaneous petitions were closed without costs.