TRILOK SAHU Vs. KRITIKA SAHU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners have filed this transfer petition under Sec. 407 of the CrPC seeking transfer of proceeding under Sec. 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (for short, 'the Act of 2005') bearing Criminal Case No.1054/2021 (Smt. Kritika Sahu v. Trilok Sahu and others) pending before the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dhamtari to Raipur principally on the ground that the petitioners are residents of various places of Chhattisgarh as well as of Bilaspur and Raipur and it is highly inconvenient for them to attend the court proceeding at Dhamtari, therefore, it be transferred.

(2.) Mrs. Renu Kochar, learned counsel appearing for the petitioners, reiterating the grounds raised in the transfer petition would submit that considering the inconvenience being faced by the eight petitioners herein, the proceeding be transferred to the Court at Raipur which has been opposed by Mrs. Aditi Singhvi, learned counsel appearing for the respondent, and she would submit that proceeding under Sec. 125 of the CrPC is pending in the Family Court, Dhamtari and the respondent is having a two year old child born out of the wedlock with petitioner No.1 herein. Relying upon the decision of the Supreme Court in the matter of Rajkumar Sabu v. Sabu Trade Private Limited, 2021 SCC OnLine SC 378, Mrs. Singhvi, learned counsel for the respondent, would submit that convenience of one of the parties cannot be a ground for transfer of criminal case and referred to paragraph 10 of the report.

(3.) I have heard learned counsel for the parties and considered their rival submissions made herein-above and also went through the record with utmost circumspection.