The court must consider the convenience and inconvenience of the parties and ensure that the ends of justice are met when deciding on the transfer of cases.

Common Order:

1. The petitioner/husband has filed two transfer civil miscellaneous petitions praying this Court to withdraw M.C.No.68 of 2008 pending on the file of Chief Judicial Magistrates Court, Trichirapalli and transfer the same to the file of the Principal Subordinate Judges Court at Erode to be tried along with H.M.O.P.No.43 of2008 pending on the file of Principal Subordinate Judge, Erode and to withdraw H.M.O.P.No.327 of 2008 pending on the file of the Principal Subordinate Judges Court at Trichirapalli and to transfer the same to the file of the Principal Subordinate Judges Court at Erode to be tried along H.M.O.P.No. 43 of 2008 respectively.

2. The petitioner in both the petitions is the husband and respondent is the wife of the petitioner herein. The marriage between the parties has taken place at Tuticorin on 112. 1994 as per the Hindu rites and Customs as a result of the wed lock, the parties have two children viz., Subbaiah aged 13 years and Sivaram aged 7 years and both of them are presently studying at Tiruchirappali. It transpires that H.M.O.P.No.43 of 2008 on the file of the Principal Subordinate Judge, Erode has been filed by the petitioner/husband praying for the relief of dissolution of marriage. The respondent/wife has filed the maintenance case in M.C.No.68 of 2008 on the file of the Chief Judicial Magistrates Court, at Trichirapalli and also filed H.M.O.P.No.327 of 2008 on the file of the Principal Subordinate Judges Court, Trichirapalli under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 praying for the relief of restitution of conjugal rights. The petitioner/husband has alleged that he is working as Junior Engineer in the Corporation of Salem and that his wife/respondent and her brothers are harassing and attacking him and that he has lodged a police complaint at Salem and therefore, he was scared to go to Tiruchirapalli because of the threat by the respondent and her brothers and hence he filed transfer petition seeking to transfer the maintenance case filed by the respondent to the file of the Principal Subordinate Judges Court, Erode to be heard along with H.M.O.P.No.43 of 2008.

3. In the counter filed by the respondent/wife, it is inter alia stated that in May 2004, the petitioner/husband forced her and children to go to Trichy saying that unless she brings money or get the property , they should not come etc and that the petitioner/husband has given false complaint against her and her brothers stating that an attempt to assault made and that she is afraid of going out of Trichy and there is no bonafide or merit in the petitions which are liable to be dismissed.

4. It is significant to point out that the essential principle concerning the grant of application under Section 24 of CPC is that the application is not to be dealt with in a light-hearted fashion and transfer of a case from one Court to another must not be granted easily/readily for any fancied notion of the applicant/litigant in view of the fact that such transfer of a case from one Judge to another in effect casts doubt on the integrity, competence and reputation of the concerned Judge, unless and until a cogent and convincing ground is made out, transfer ought not to be allowed as a matter of course.

5. Further, the convenience and inconvenience of the parties must be looked into by a Court of law. The aspect of expediency will depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case, but pivotal consideration for exercise of such power must be to meet the ends of justice.

6. In fact the inconvenience mentioned in Section 24 of CPC for transfer of such a case should be of such a nature which may lead to injustice if the party is required to continue the trial at a place where it has been laid or when the Court comes to the conclusion that the suit has been filed in a particular Court for causing injustice. No wonder an application under Section 24 of CPC is in the nature of original proceeding within section 141 of CPC.

7. Thou