JAIKARAN SINGH Vs. BALAKRAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This application under Article 227 of the Constitution of India has been filed against the order dated 4.10.2019 by which the District Judge Ghaziabad had refused to interfere in the Transfer Application filed by the petitioner. A further prayer in the application is that the Civil Appeal No. 8 of 2019 (Balakram and others vs. Jaikaran Singh and others) be Transferred from the Court of 4th Additional District Judge, Ghaziabad, to any other Court of the judgeship of Ghaziabad.

(2.) Even before notices could be issued to the respondents, the learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel Sri Neeraj Upadhyay opposed the filing of the instant application under Article 227 of the Constitution of India and, therefore, before entering into the merits of the case, the Counsel were heard with regard to the maintainability of the application under Article 227 of the Constitution of India.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner relied upon Sunita Devi vs. Ram Kripal and another, 2015 2 AWC 1543 and submitted that an application when was rejected by the District Court under Section 24 of the C.P.C., a further application under Section 24 of the C.P.C. was not maintainable before the High Court. Learned counsel relied upon the provisions of Section 24 of the C.P.C. and submitted that when the provisions of Section 24 of the C.P.C. itself stated that an Application for Transfer or withdrawal of the Suit could be filed before the High Court "or" the District Court then the provision had to be construed strictly and relying upon Dadi Jagannadhan v. Jammulu Ramulu and Other, 2001 7 SCC 71 submitted that when only one Court could be approached because of the word "or" between the word "High Court' and "District Court" then a party could approach either the High Court or the District Court and it could not approach the High Court after approaching the District Court under the same jurisdiction. He submitted that the High Court under its supervisory powers could look into the judgement of the District Court but it could not entertain a fresh Transfer Application when once it had been rejected by the District Court.