Wife Living With Two Children In Sankarankovil Gets Husband’s Divorce Case Shifted From Madurai: Madras HC

The parties married in 2005 and have two sons. After they began living separately, the husband filed H.M.O.P. No. 551 of 2023 for divorce before the Family Court, Madurai.

The wife sought transfer of the proceeding to the Sub Court, Sankarankovil, stating that she lived there with the children and could not conveniently travel to Madurai for hearings. The husband opposed transfer, contending that she had attended the Madurai proceedings and that the application would delay the case. The High Court noted that the divorce petition itself gave the wife’s address as Sankarankovil.

Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure empowers the High Court to withdraw and transfer proceedings.

In matrimonial transfer matters, the Court stated that the wife’s convenience should be given predominant consideration. It relied on Arti Rani @ Pinki Devi & Anr. v. Dharmendra Kumar Gupta, reported as 2008 (9) SCC 353, for the principle that the wife’s convenience is to be preferred in considering such applications.

The Court accepted that the wife was residing at Sankarankovil with the parties’ two children and relied on the address stated for her in the husband’s divorce petition. It considered her difficulty in travelling to Madurai for the proceedings and applied the principle that the wife’s convenience should receive priority.

The husband’s objections did not outweigh those considerations; the Court also noted that the matter was at the evidence stage and that the husband’s physical appearance would not be required at every hearing.

The Family Court was directed to transmit the entire record within two weeks of receiving the order. No costs were ordered, and the connected civil miscellaneous petition was closed.