SHEELA DEVI Vs. ROMESH CHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SMT . Sheela Devi has filed the instant petition under Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1977 for transferring the petition filed by her husband Romesh Chand which has been assigned file No. 01/HMA of 2008 and is pending in the Court of learned Munsiff, Basohli with the powers of District Judge under the Hindu Marriage Act, to any Court of competent Jurisdiction to the Principal District Judge, Kathua. She has pleaded that she lives in Himachal Pradesh which is far away from Basohli. It is pertinent to mention that the respondenthusband has sought relief of dissolution of marriage in the aforesaid petition.

(2.) BRIEF facts of the case, as disclosed in the instant petition, are that the petitioner is a resident of village Bagdar Tehsil Dalhousie District Chamba (HP) and she was married to the respondent in the month of April, 2000 at her village in accordance with Hindu rites and customs. Soon after the marriage differences arose and her family made efforts to settle the petitioner at her matrimonial home but all those efforts failed. Eventually she was driven out from her matrimonial home forcing her to take shelter at her fathers house in her native village Bagdar Tehsil Dalhousie (Chamba). Romesh Chand, the husband of the petitioner, is working as a Patwari and has been threatening the petitioner and her relatives who are accompanying her to defend the case. She has stated that being a destitute lady she is not in a position to attend the hearing at Munsiff Court, Basohli which is at a far away distance and if the matter is transferred to the District court at Kathua then she would be able to conveniently cover the distance and attend the hearing.

(3.) I have heard learned counsel for the parties and have perused the record. It is pertinent to mention that when notice of this petition was issued to the respondent-husband the proceedings before the trial court were stayed on 11.02.2010. The interim directions have continued since then. On 16.03.2012 the parties were called in person to appear before the Mediation Centre on 28.03.2012 at 10:30 AM. The Mediation Centre was to file the report by 30.03.2012. Eventually, the mediation did not succeed and the matter has been sent back to the Court.