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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA
K. RAMAKRISHNAN, J.
Yohannan - Appellant
v.
Preethy - Respondent
Tr. P. (Crl.) No.108 of 2016
Decided On : 17-11-2016
Family Courts Act 1984 - Section 7 - Civil Procedure Code, 1908 - Section 74 - Transfer of Cases - Wife filed different cases against husband for different reliefs - Husband seeking transfer of Cases to another Family Court at the stage of Trial - Permissibility of - Held, Wife filed three cases against husband - Husband appearing through his Power of Attorney holder and can be represented by his counsel before Courts - Cases at trial stage not necessary to transfer at this stage - Petition dismissed
The legal document pertains to a case involving the transfer of family court cases between two jurisdictions, specifically between the Family Court at Alappuzha and Thiruvalla. The key issues revolve around the appropriateness of transferring cases at the trial stage and the considerations for jurisdiction based on residence and convenience of the parties.
The court examined the stage of proceedings, the representation by power of attorney, and the location of the parties and their properties. It was observed that the cases filed earlier by the wife are already at the trial stage before the Family Court at Alappuzha, and the husband’s cases are also at a similar stage before the Family Court at Thiruvalla. Since the wife’s cases were filed earlier and are well underway, the court decided that transferring these cases at this stage would be unnecessary and potentially disruptive.
However, the court noted that the cases filed by the husband, which are currently pending before the Family Court at Thiruvalla, could be transferred to the Family Court at Alappuzha. This is because the husband resides within the jurisdiction of Alappuzha, and his properties are situated there, making it more appropriate for those cases to be tried in that jurisdiction. The court also emphasized that the legal guardian’s residence (in this case, the father) and the child's residence are relevant factors in determining jurisdiction, with the general principle favoring the guardian’s location when considering custody and related matters.
The court dismissed the transfer petitions filed by the husband for cases already at trial stage before the Alappuzha court, citing the importance of maintaining the integrity of ongoing proceedings. Conversely, it allowed the transfer of the husband’s pending cases from Thiruvalla to Alappuzha to ensure convenience and proper jurisdiction, and directed the respective courts to transmit records accordingly.
Finally, the court directed the parties to appear before the Family Court at Alappuzha on a specified date and encouraged expeditious disposal of the cases, including exploring settlement options through counseling and mediation.
In summary: - Cases already at trial before the Alappuzha Family Court will not be transferred. - Pending cases before the Thiruvalla Family Court filed by the husband are to be transferred to Alappuzha. - The court prioritized maintaining proceedings at their current stage unless transfer was justified by jurisdictional convenience. - Directions were issued for parties to appear on a specified date and for the courts to expedite proceedings.
1. T.P.(C) 604 of 2015 was filed by the wife against the husband for transfer of OP(Divorce) 399 of 2015 and OP(G&W) 400 of 2015, both the cases are pending before Family Court Thiruvalla to Family Court Alappuzha while husband filed T.P.(C) 47 of 2016 to transfer OP145 of 2015 and OP(Divorce)198 of 2015 pending before Family Court, Alappuzha to Thiruvalla and T.P.(Criminal) 108 of 2016 pending before Family court, Alappuzha to Family Court Thiruvalla under Section 24 of Code of Criminal Procedure and Section 407 of Code of Criminal Procedure.
2. The common case of respective petitioners in these petitions was that the petitioner and respondent are husband and wife and their marriage was solemnized on 8.02.2010 from St. Thomas Marthoma Church Niranam and they were living together as husband and wife at the house of the respondent which is within the jurisdiction of Family court Alappuzha. A male child was born to them in that wedlock. They lived together as husband and wife till 20.02.2015 and thereafter their relationship strained and she had left the matrimonial home and started residing along with her parents with their child. She filed M.C.17 of 2015 before Family Court Alappuzha claiming maintenance for herself and son on 4.03.2015 and also filed O.P.145 of 2015 before Family court Alappuzha for return of gold ornaments and other reliefs and also attached the property of the husband situated within the jurisdiction of Alappuzha Family Court that was filed on 06.11.2015. Wife also filed OP (Divorce) 198 of 2015 on 31.03.2015 before Family court Alappuzha and in all these cases the respondent entered appearance through his father as power of attorney and it was posted to 06.11.2015 for evidence. It is thereafter, the husband filed O.P, (Divorce) 399 of 2015 and OP (Guardian and Wards) 400 of 2015 both before Family Court Thiruvalla with date of appearance on 29.05.2015 and both these cases were filed by the husband though power of attorney holder father. So wife filed the petition to transfer these two cases to Family Court Alappuzha to be tried along with those cases pending before that court. Earlier. Earlier a joint petition was filed to transfer both the cases but on the basis of the objection raised by the registry, this was confined to one case. Viz OP (Divorce) 399 of 2015. In view of the full bench decision that single petition can be filed in one court, for bringing all cases pending in court below and same party. The petitioner filed I.A. 115.0of 2016 to Transfer OP (G&W) 400 2013 also from Family Court Thiruvalla to Family Court Alappuzha.
3. The respondent and the parents alleged in their petition that the place of residence of both parties are very near to Family Court, Thiruvalla and if the case pending before Family Court Alappuzha is transferred to Family Court Thiruvalla, it will be convenient to both the parties solely pray for transfer of cases pending before Family Court Alappuzha to Family Court Thiruvalla. The respondent through power of attorney holder entered appearance in the transfer petition 604 of 2014 and filed counter contending that the place of residence of both the petitioner and respondent are very near to Family Court Thiruvalla and as far as the guardian petition is concerned, the petition can be filed before Family Court Thiruvalla only, as the child is residing within the jurisdiction of Thiruvalla court, which is only 5 kms from the place of residence of the wife and 10 kms from the residence of the husband. Alappuzha Family court is situated about 35 and 40 kms from the respective residence. The husband filed this transfer petition on the ground that if these cases are to be transferred to Family Court Thiruvalla. So both the parties filed this respective petitions to transfer the cases to the respective of their choice.
4. Heard Smt. Bindu, which is appearing for the wife and Smt. Mereena Joseph counsel appearing for the husband in ail these cases.
5. The learned counsel for the
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