"Court Shouldn't Be Swayed By Emotions Tilting Towards Fairer Sex": PH High Court Rejects Wife's Plea To Transfer Matrimonial Case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently dismissed a plea filed by a woman who sought transfer of the matrimonial case to her home district as it observed that merely because the applicant is a wife, the Court should not be swayed by emotions tilting toward the fairer sex.

The bench of Justice Fateh Deep Singh was dealing with the plea of one Rinky Rani who sought transfer of a case instituted by her husband under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act for restitution of conjugal rights from Amritsar (where the petition was filed) to Patiala (where the petitioner-wife lives).

At the outset, the Court observed that in this modern era, there is a clamor for equity of sexes and merely because the applicant is a wife, the Court should not be swayed by emotions tilting towards the fairer sex.

Further, the Court also took into account the fact that the petitioner's husband is a dealer while she is a house wife and therefore if the husband would be made to attend the proceedings at a far off place (in Patiala) by virtue of the instant transfer plea, it would further be a cause of harassment to the husband who is already seeking restitution of conjugal rights.

The Court also opined that the wife is living with two daughters aged 12 years and 8 years and since the wife is residing with her parents, thus, the daughters could be looked after by her parents.

"The wife cannot be allowed to take undue benefit of her own wrongs and rather the present petition is nothing but a sweet revenge by the wife to force the husband not to seek his rights under the law and more so the invocation of a jurisdiction under Section 24 of the CPC is not to be rightly inferred unless and until there are bonafide compelling reasons for the Court to come to the aid of the applicant," the Court noted as it dismissed the plea.

Case title - Rinky Rani v. Daljit Kumar

Case Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (PH) 81

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