Monika Goyal v. Aseem Garg

IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA

AT CHANDIGARH Date of decision: 25.5.2016 Monika Goyal .. Applicant Vs.

Aseem Garg ... Respondent

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE RAMESHWAR SINGH MALIK

Present:

Mr. Ashok Bhardwaj Advocate for the applicant.

Mr. Ashish Aggarwal, Advocate for the respondent.

**** RAMESHWAR SINGH MALIK, J. (Oral) CM No. 8217-CII-2016 Applicant-respondent seeks permission to place on record reply alongwith Annexures A-1 to A-8 and also seeks exemption from filing certified copy thereof.

Application is allowed, as prayed for.

CM stands disposed of.

TA No. 964 of 2015 Applicant-wife, by way of instant transfer application under Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, seeks transfer of a divorce petition under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 ('HM Act' for

short), filed by the respondent-husband, from Amritsar to Mansa. Notice of motion was issued and in the meantime, further proceedings before the learned trial court were stayed. Heard learned counsel for the parties.

It has gone undisputed before this Court that applicant-wife is living with her parents at her ancestral village in District Mansa. Neither the applicant-wife is having any regular source of income, nor the respondenthusband is paying any maintenance amount to her. Distance between Amritsar and Mansa is more than 200 Kilometers. At this stage, learned counsel for the respondent submits that there is a child out of this wedlock and it is the respondent only who is taking care of him.

Be that as it may, in view of the abovesaid undisputed fact situation obtaining in the present case, this Court is of the considered opinion that instant transfer application deserves to be allowed. It is so said because financial status of the wife, her source of income, conduct of the husband in not paying the maintenance amount and distance between two places, besides her convenience, are some of the relevant considerations for deciding the transfer application like the present one The abovesaid view taken by this Court also finds support from the earlier order dated 16.03.2016 passed by this Court in TA No.945 of 2015 (Sushma and others Vs. Kapil @ Sahil Bansal), which, in turn, was based on the judgments of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, as well as different High Courts, including this Court.

Considering the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case noted above, coupled with the reasons aforementioned, this Court is of the

considered view that instant transfer application deserves to be accepted and the same is hereby allowed. Petition under Section 13 of the HM Act filed by the respondent-husband titled as Aseem Garg Vs. Monika Goyal is ordered to be transferred from Amritsar to Mansa. Accordingly, the learned District Judge, Amritsar, is directed to send complete record of the abovesaid petition to the learned District Judge, Mansa, at an early date but in any case within a period of one month from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order. The learned District Judge, Mansa, is also directed either to decide the case himself or assign it to the learned court of competent jurisdiction, for an early decision, in accordance with law. With the abovesaid observations made and directions issued, present transfer application stands disposed of, however, with no order as to costs.

(RAMESHWAR SINGH MALIK ) JUDGE 25.5.2016 AK Sharma