JUDGMENT

Nidhi Gupta, J. (Oral)

Prayer in this petition filed by petitioner-wife is for transfer of the petition filed by respondent-husband under section 13 of the HINDU MARRIAGE ACT ,1955 titled " Dr. Gurjyot Singh v. Dr. Seerat Kaur Bhatia " from the Court of Ms. Tripat Jot Kaur, Addl. Principal Judge, Family Court-II, Jalandhar to a court of competent jurisdiction at Chandigarh.

2. It is stated by the petitioner in the petition:

i) that the parties were married on 20.1.2019 according to Sikh rites and rituals;

ii) that the petitioner and respondent although lived together as husband and wife,did not consummate the marriage;

iii) that immediately after marriage the respondent and his family members started harassing the petitioner for more dowries and several gruesome acts of cruelty were committed against her by the respondent, his mother and sister;

iv) petitioner, after she was thrown out of her matrimonial home, is living separately since 18.12.2021;

v) that the respondent has filed the divorce petition at Jalandhar to harass the petitioner;

vi) petitioner is working as a Radiologist at Healing Hospital, Sector 34, Chandigarh and has difficulty in travelling to Jalandhar in order to attend the proceedings;

vii) that she apprehends danger at the hands of respondent being related to affluent family; and she has also filed a police complaint on 27.3.2022 but no action has been taken;

viii) that being a lady, it would be very difficult for the petitioner to frequently travel 300 kms. (to and fro) between Chandigarh and Jalandhar to attend the proceedings.

3. It is inter alia on these grounds that petitioner prays for transfer of the case, as detailed in para 1 above.

4. Upon notice, written statement by way of affidavit has been filed by the respondent stating therein that the present Transfer petition has been filed by the petitioner to harass him. It is further submitted that respondent is also a practising Doctor of Medicine, and is employed in Tagore Hospital, Jalandhar. Citing the nature of duties that he has to attend to, the transfer of the divorce petition is seriously objected to. As regards the allegations of cruelty or demand of dowry, the same have been denied and counter allegations of petitioner not cooperating in making their marriage successful has been levelled. It is further alleged that the petitioner did not want mediation proceedings initiated by this Court to materialize, as she filed a complaint in Women Cell on 3.11.2022, while the mediation proceedings were fixed before this Court on 16.11.2022. It is further alleged that petitioner is harassing the respondent since the day of marriage. It is also stated that the petitioner had been regularly travelling to Amritsar, which is beyond Jalandhar, and therefore, it is not open to the petitioner to raise objections in the present petition.

5. Ld. counsel for the petitioner makes submission on the line of averments made in the petition, and relies upon law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in N.C.V. Aishwarya v. A.S. Saravana Karthik Sha Law Finder Doc Id # 201639 to contend that as per decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in a matrimonial petition such as the present one, convenience of wife must be looked at while considering transfer.

6. Per contra, ld. counsel for the respondent vehemently opposes the prayer made in the petition by reiterating the averments made in the written statement. In support he relies upon judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Anupam Ghosh and another v. Faiz Mohammed and others, Law Finder Doc Id # 2032739 and submits that in the cited judgment, Hon'ble Apex Court dismissed transfer petition on the g