THE HON’BLE SMT. JUSTICE TIRUMALA DEVI EADA TRANSFER CRIMINAL PETITION No.70 OF 2025

ORDER:

This Criminal Petition is filed by the petitioners seeking to transfer C.C.No.400 of 2024 from the file of learned Judicial First Class Magistrate, Metpally, Jagityal District, to the headquarters of Karimnagar or Hanumakonda. The offences alleged in the subject C.C. are under Section 498-A of the India Penal Code (for short ‘IPC’) and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act (for short ‘DP’

Act).

2. Heard the submissions of Smt. P. Lakshmi, learned counsel for the petitioners, Sri Jithender Rao Veeramalla, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for respondent No.1 – State and Ms. J. Hymavathi, learned counsel for the respondent No.2.

3. The learned petitioners’ counsel has submitted that the petitioners are facing a lot of difficulty in attending the proceedings at Metpally Court and that when petitioner No.1 is in the Court premises on 23.01.2025, his wife and her father along with two other unknown persons, threatened him with dire consequences, unless he settles the matter by paying lumpsum amounts to his wife for divorce.

4. Learned counsel for respondent No.2 has submitted that the Criminal Petition lacks merit. There is no need to transfer C.C.No.400 of 2024 to any other District. She further submitted that the case is filed at the maternal place of the de facto complainant, where she is right now residing after getting separated from her husband. She further submitted that there is no truth in the allegation that the father of de facto complainant has threatened the petitioners herein to settle the matter. She, therefore, prayed to dismiss the Criminal Petition.

5. Perused the record.

6. The residence of petitioners is shown to be at Dharmasagar Village, Warangal Urban District, while the residence of the respondent No.2 is in Metpally, Jagityal District. Since, the respondent No.2 is residing at Jagityal District, the complaint has been filed by the respondent No.2 in the local police station and that is the reason, the present case is pending before the Metpally Court. In Rupali Devi Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh¹, it was held that, a Court at the location where the wife has taken shelter after leaving the matrimonial home due to cruelty also has jurisdiction.

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO(s). 71 OF 2012

7. It is pertinent to take note of the fact that there are two other cases i.e., DVC.No.33 of 2022 and M.C.No.3 of 2024 pending at Metpally as per the affidavit of petitioner No.1 herein. It is not his case that all the cases are to be transferred. He seeks transfer of only C.C.No.400 of 2024 from the file of Judicial First Class Magistrate, Metpally, to another District i.e., either Karimnagar or Hanumakonda for the reason that he is being threatened to settle the matter. Even if one case is transferred, he needs to attend the other two cases before the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Metpally, who has jurisdiction to try the cases. The place to which the transfer of case is sought is to either Karimnagar or Hanumakonda. Both these Districts do not have jurisdiction to try the present case. Neither the matrimonial home of respondent No.2 nor her place of shelter after leaving the matrimonial home would fall in these Districts.

8. Since, the present petition is filed under Section 407 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C), the same is extracted herein for the sake of reference:-

Section 407 Cr.P.C:-, grants the High Court the power to transfer criminal cases and appeals from one subordinate criminal court to another, or to itself. This power can be exercised if it appears that a fair and impartial trial cannot be held, a complex question of law is likely to arise, or the transfer is expedient for the ends of justice or for the convenience of the parties or witnesses.

9. The grounds under Section 407 Cr.P.C do not get attracted in the present case. Hence, it is not a fit case to be transferred from the jurisdiction of one Sessions Division to another