Punjab and Haryana High Court: H.S. Madaan, J. dismissed the application for the transfer of a divorce petition merely on the ground of inconvenience of the attorney in attending hearings.
The applicant herein was the wife of respondent who had filed a divorce petition against her in the Court of District Judge, Sangrur. Applicant filed the instant transfer application seeking transfer of the divorce case from Sangrur to a Court of competent jurisdiction in Patiala on the ground that she lives in Australia and her appointed attorney was facing difficulty in attending the hearings in Sangrur on dates of listing of a divorce case. Her second ground for seeking transfer was that since the respondent’s father was a senior advocate in the Sangrur District Court and had strong political links, there was a threat to the applicant and her family.
The Court observed that the contentions of the applicant were not sufficient to transfer the divorce petition. It remarked that “The Court is not to see the convenience of the attorney. If the attorney has got difficulty in attending the dates of hearing, the applicant can very well appoint some other person as her attorney, who can put in an appearance in the Court conveniently.” It was also opined that “Merely because respondent’s father is a senior advocate at Sangrur does not mean that he is capable of interfering in judicial proceedings or would do so.” If there is an apprehension of physical harm to the applicant then she should approach the legal enforcement agency.
In view of the above, the instant application was dismissed. [Rubalpreet Kaur v. Harbarkamaljot Singh, TA-526 of 2019 (O&M), decided on 16-07-2019]
