(Prayer: This Transfer Civil Miscellaneous Petition filed under Section 24 of C.P.C., praying to withdraw the petition in H.M.O.P.No.430 of 2025 pending on the file of Sub Court, Thambaram, and transfer the same to the file of the III Sub Court, Madurai.)

1. The Civil Miscellaneous Petition has been filed seeking orders to withdraw the petition in H.M.O.P.No.430 of 2025 pending on the file of Sub Court, Thambaram, and transfer the same to the file of the III Sub Court, Madurai.

2. It is not in dispute that the marriage between the parties was solemnized on 23.01.2009 as per Hindu Rites and customs and due to their wed-lock they were blessed with two female children and that subsequently, there arose some misunderstanding between them and they are living separately. It is also not in dispute that the respondent filed a petition in H.M.O.P.No.430 of 2025, seeking divorce and the same is pending on the file of the Sub Court, Thambaram.

3. It is the specific case of the petitioner that she is presently residing with her parents and her two minor children at Madurai and she finds it very difficult to travel from Madurai to Chennai on every hearing and that therefore, she was constrained to file the above petition for transfer.

4. The learned counsel for the respondent filed a counter affidavit raising objections, stating that the petitioner is now living in Medavakkam, Chennai along with their two children; that their two children are studying at Vidhya Metric Higher Second School and Velammmal New Gen School, respectively, that the petitioner is working in CAPGEMINI, Chennai from the year 2021 till now and that the petitioner with an evil intention to harass the respondent has purposely filed the above petition.

5. In order to counter the above, the petitioner has produced the school admission papers of her two minor daughters and has also produced a letter from her employer company to show that she has resigned from her job. The learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that due to the harassment and cruelty meted out to the petitioner, she was driven out of the matrimonial home; that the petitioner has been residing with her parents and her two minor female children at Madurai; that she had admitted her two children at K.L.N.Vidyalaya and Guhan Matriculation Higher Secondary School and paid the fees therefor and that she had already resigned her job and that the contentions of the respondent in this regard are false and incorrect.

6. At this juncture, it is necessary to refer the decision of Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of N.C.V.Aishwarya Vs. A.S.Saravana Karthik Sha reported in 2022 Live Law (SC) 627, wherein the Hon'ble Supreme Court has reiterated the position with generally, it is the wife's convenience, which must be looked at while considering the transfer petition under Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure and the relevant passage is extracted hereunder :

                  “The cardinal principle for exercise of power under Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure is that the ends of justice should demand the transfer of the suit, appeal or other proceeding. In matrimonial matters, wherever Courts are called upon to consider the plea of transfer, the Courts have to take into consideration the economic soundness of both the parties, the social strata of the spouses and their behavioural pattern, their standard of life prior to the marriage and subsequent thereto and the circumstances of both the parties in eking out their livelihood and under whose protective umbrella they are seeking their sustenance to life. Given the prevailing socioeconomic paradigm in the Indian society, generally, it is the wife's convenience which must be looked at while considering transfer.", the bench observed.”

7. It is well settled that while considering a petition for transfer in matrimonial disputes, the paramount consideration is the convenience of the parties and particularly, the convenience of the wife. The Hon'ble Supreme Court has consistently held that in matrimonial proceedings, given the social and economic liabilities and the hardship of travelling, the convenience of the wife is to be given precedence, especially when she has to take care of minor children and has no independent income.

8. In the present case, as already pointed out, the petitioner has specifically stated that she is residing with her parents and also taking care of her minor children, the difficulty expressed by the petitioner in undertaking travel to Chennai cannot be brushed aside as trivial or imaginary. The responsibility of caring for her minor children, coupled with her residence at her parental home, is a relevant and valid factor. Though the respondent has projected certain objections, in the considered view of this Court, the same cannot outweigh the hardship that would be caused to the petitioner, who is required to travel along with her minor child.

9. Moreover, the respondent can seek exemption from personal appearance, if so advised. Considering the totality of the circumstances and applying the settled legal provisions, this Court is of the view that the petitioner has made out a case for transfer, and the balance of convenience tilts in favour of the petitioner.

10. Considering the above, this Court is inclined to allow this petition.

                  Accordingly, the petition in H.M.O.P.No.430 of 2025, is ordered to be withdrawn from the file of the Sub Court, Thambaram and transfer the same to the III Sub Court, Madurai. The learned Subordinate Judge, Thambaram, is hereby directed to transmit the entire records in H.M.O.P.No.430 of 2025 to the file of the III Sub Court, Madurai, within a period of 10 days from the date of receipt of a copy of this order and on receiving the case bundle, the learned Judge, III Sub Court, Madurai, is directed to take up the petition on file and proceed in accordance with law.

11. With the above direction, the Transfer Civil Miscellaneous Petition stands allowed. The respondent is at liberty to move the III Sub Court, Madurai, for dispensation of personal appearance and upon such an application being filed, the learned trial Judge is directed to consider the same on its merits and in accordance with law. Consequently, connected Miscellaneous Petition is closed. No costs.