Wife’s Convenience Predominates in Matrimonial Transfer Pleas Absent Sufficient Justification for Distant Forum Selection

The petitioner (wife) and respondent (husband) were married on 11.05.2018.

Following allegations of cruelty and dowry harassment, the petitioner began residing at Raigarh, where she is employed at a private hospital.

The respondent, a resident of District Korba, instituted a divorce petition under Section 13(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, before the District & Additional Sessions Court, Gharghoda, District Raigarh.

The petitioner filed this transfer petition under Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), seeking to transfer the proceedings to the Family Court, Raigarh, citing travel hardships and the distance from her residence.

1. Whether Civil Suit No. A/14/2025 should be transferred from the District & Additional Sessions Court, Gharghoda to the Family Court, Raigarh, based on the convenience of the wife in matrimonial proceedings.

The Court applied Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which governs the general power of transfer and withdrawal of suits.

In matrimonial disputes, the wife’s convenience is a primary consideration for transfer as established in N.C.V. Aishwarya v. A.S. Saravana Karthik (2022 SCC Online SC 1199).

Interdependent proceedings between the same parties should be tried by the same judge to avoid a multiplicity of trials and conflicting decisions.

The Court evaluated the petitioner’s circumstance as a working woman residing in Raigarh and found that travelling to the Gharghoda court caused her severe hardship.

The respondent’s justification for filing in Gharghoda—that the petitioner previously worked there—was contested by the petitioner and ultimately found insufficient by the Court to override her current residential convenience.

Applying the "wife’s convenience" doctrine from N.C.V. Aishwarya, the Court determined that the ends of justice necessitated the transfer to Raigarh to ensure the petitioner could effectively participate in the proceedings.

It ordered the transfer of Civil Suit No. A/14/2025 from the District & Additional Sessions Court, Gharghoda, to the Family Court, Raigarh, C.G., for trial and disposal in accordance with the law.

Both parties were directed to appear before the Family Court, Raigarh, on 16.06.2026.