Rajasthan High Court Dispenses With Notice To Husband In Wife's Matrimonial Transfer Plea, Says Procedure Cannot Overshadow Justice

While dispensing with the requirement of serving notice upon the husband in a transfer petition in a matrimonial matter, Rajasthan High Court observed that in many matrimonial cases, transfer petitions remained pending merely at the stage of service. [2026 LiveLaw (Raj) 282]It was held that issuance of notice in matrimonial transfer petitioner and keeping such matters pending for years, particularly when interim stay orders continued, did not advance cause of justice. The bench of Justice Farjand Ali further opined that in matrimonial disputes, where one spouse was already appearing before the Courts situated at the residential place of other spouse, insisting upon continuation of connected matrimonial proceedings at different stations was cumbersome and impractical that prolonged parties' agony and delayed substantive justice.“Consolidation of proceedings at one place not only minimises inconvenience but also facilitates coordinated adjudication and reduces the possibility of conflicting orders.”For context, the Court was hearing a petition filed by a wife seeking transfer of the proceedings under Section 13, instituted by her husband, from Bikaner to Jaisalmer. The petition was pending for more than 1 year in light of pending service of notices to the husband. The Court highlighted the “practical realities surrounding matrimonial litigations”, and observed that, “In a large number of matrimonial disputes, proceedings under Sections 498-A IPC, cases under D.V. Act, Section 125 Cr.P.C., petitions under Sections 9 and 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act and other allied proceedings are instituted at the place where the wife is residing. Consequently, even otherwise, the respondent-husband is invariably required to appear before the Courts situated at the place where transfer is sought.”It was opined that in such circumstances, requiring the wife to simultaneously contest proceedings instituted by husband at another distant place resulted in avoidable multiplicity of travel, financial burden and mental hardship for both the parties. Further, the Court observed that where the respondent was already appearing before courts situated at place where the transfer was sought, and was regularly attending proceedings there, no irreversible prejudice could be caused to him/her merely by transfer of an additional connected proceeding to the same station. “Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure confers wide and comprehensive powers upon the High Court to transfer proceedings either on an application of a party or even suo motu whenever the ends of justice so require. The provision is fundamentally intended to ensure that procedural mechanisms remain subservient to the larger cause of fair adjudication. The judicial system exists to facilitate access to justice and not to perpetuate procedural hardship.”In this background, the requirement of serving notice to the respondent-husband was dispensed away with, and the transfer petition was allowed with a direction that all proceedings in relation to the matrimonial dispute shall proceed exclusively before the Family Court in Jaisalmer. Further, the Court directed the District judge as well as the Family Court to try, as far as administratively feasible, to ensure that all pending and future litigations between the parties were coordinated and listed on same dates, to minimise multiplicity of appearances, and securing ends of justice. Title: X v YS.B. Civil Transfer Application No. 152/2025For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Leela Dhar Khatri Mr. Priyank KewaliyaCitation: 2026 LiveLaw (Raj) 282Click Here To Read/Download Order

Rajasthan High Court Dispenses With Notice To Husband In Wife's Matrimonial Transfer Plea, Says Procedure Cannot Overshadow Justice

Nupur Agrawal

Considerable number of transfer petitions remain pending at service stage for 2-3 years, Court noted.

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Nupur Agrawal

Rajasthan High Court Dispenses With Notice To Husband In Wife's Matrimonial Transfer Plea, Says Procedure Cannot Overshadow Justice

Nupur Agrawal

Considerable number of transfer petitions remain pending at service stage for 2-3 years, Court noted.

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INR 1099+GST

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Nupur Agrawal

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