Section 22 CPC | Mandatory To Issue Prior Notice To Opposite Party In Plea Seeking Transfer Of Suit To Different Court: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed a petition seeking transfer of a civil suit from a Narsinghpur court to Jabalpur court, observing that the application was not maintainable due to non-compliance with the mandatory requirement of issuing prior notice to the opposite parties under Section 22 CPC.

Section 22 CPC states that where a suit may be instituted in any one of two or more Courts and is instituted in one of such Courts, any defendant, after notice to the other parties, may, at the earliest possible opportunity and in all cases where issues are settled at or before such settlement, apply to have the suit transferred to another Court, and the Court towhich such application is made, after considering the objections of the other parties (if any), shall determine in which of the several Courts having jurisdiction the suit shall proceed.

The bench of Justice Maninder S Bhatti observed that a bare reading of Section 22 of the CPC reflects that for invoking the said provision, a defendant seeking transfer of a civil suit to any other Court is required, in the first instance, to issue notice to the other parties, and only thereafter can he/she prefer an application before the competent Court for transfer of the suit.

The court said that though a ground for transfer is contemplated under Section 22 CPC, but the same can only be taken recourse to, when the stipulations made therein are fulfilled. It thus said:

"A perusal of the application filed before this Court under Section 22 of the CPC does not reflect that any notice of transfer was issued by the present applicant to the other parties, as mandated under Section 22 of the CPC. Issuance of such notice to the other parties is a condition precedent for invoking the provisions of Section 22 of the CPC. As per the said provision, its invocation is contingent upon prior notice being given to the opposite parties by the defendant seeking transfer of the suit".

The applicant had approached the High Court seeking transfer of a civil suit pending before the Civil Judge at Gadarwara, District Narsinghpur. The applicant conteded that the suit ought to be tried by a competent court at Jabalpur.

The counsel for the applicant submitted that respondents no 1 and 2/the plaintiffs, had instituted a civil suit seeking a declaration of title and a permanent injunction in respect of certain properties described in the plaint.

Per the plaintiffs, they had acquired the title based on a Will dated September 7 2021.

The counsel for the applicant contended that the plaintiffs had misled the court by portraying themselves as residents of Village Kaudiya, while the will relied upon the plaintiffs specifically recording their residence as South Civil Lines in Jabalpur.

The applicant argued that the plaintiffs also represented themselves as residents of Jabalpur before the revenue authorities. The applicant further submitted that the disputed properties were situated in Jabalpur and Narsinghpur districts. The applicant also questioned the plaintiff's claimed residence in village Kaudiya, asserting that the address did not contain a proper residential house and that the structure there was merely a dilapidated mud house.

Opposing the plea, the counsel for the plaintiffs argued that the applicant was himself employed in Jaipur and was not residing in Jabalpur. They further argued that a substantial portion of the disputed properties was situated in village Kaudiya and that the suit was founded upon the Will of September 7, 2021.

The plaintiffs also placed their Aadhaar cards to demonstrate that their residence was at village Kaudiya. They argued that since a major portion of the suit property fell within the jurisdiction of Garadwara, the suit was right instituted before the competent court there.

After considering the submissions, the court examined the scope of section 22 CPC, which governs the transfer of suits that can be instituted in more than one court.

The bench noted that the provisions of Section 22 permit a defendant to seek transfer of a suit from one competent court to another, provided the application is made at the earliest opportunity and after issuing notice to other parties.

The court, examining Section 22 CPC, noted that the issuance of notice to the opposite party is a mandatory condition precedent for seeking transfer of a suit.

In the present case, the court noted that the applicant had not issued any such notice to the opposite party before filing the transfer petition. The bench observed;

"If the application, styled as one under Section 22 of the CPC, was to be filed, it was incumbent upon the present applicant, as a statutory obligation, to first issue notice to the opposite party, i.e., the plaintiffs. However, in the instant case, without issuing any such notice to the other party, the present application under Section 22 of the CPC has been directly filed".

Therefore, the bench held that the application was not maintainable and dismissed the same.

Case Title: Meenal Budholia v Kalyan Singh Budholia, MCC-2556-2025

For Applicant: Advocate Ram Prasad Khare

For Respondents: Advocate Sandeep Kacchi

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