2 weeks Ago By TG Naidu
HYDERABAD: Noting that travelling by TGRTC buses was free for women in the state, the Telangana High Court on Thursday dismissed a woman’s plea seeking to transfer divorce proceedings from Nirmal district to Hyderabad. Presiding over the case, Justice P Sree Sudha said there was no valid reason for the transfer. “As both parties are residing in Nirmal, this court finds that there is no reason to transfer this petition from the Senior Civil Judge Court, Nirmal, to the Principal Family Court Judge, Rangareddy district at LB Nagar or Principal Family Court at Hyderabad,” the judge observed.
The court also highlighted that the Telangana government provides free bus services for women, making travel less burdensome. As a result, it ruled that the petition lacked merit and was “liable to be dismissed”. The case originated when the woman’s husband filed a divorce petition under Section 13(1)(ia)(ib) of the Hindu Marriage Act in Nirmal, citing cruelty and desertion.
The woman, in turn, filed a criminal case against him and his family members under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Dowry Prohibition Act, accusing them of cruelty. In her plea for the transfer of proceedings, the woman argued that she was residing with her parents in Hyderabad, along with their two-and-a-half-year-old child. She claimed that frequent travel from Hyderabad to Nirmal without male assistance was challenging.
However, her husband contested these claims, stating that the woman had an MSc in Geology and worked in the private sector. He asserted that she was living in Nirmal with her parents and had only filed a “false complaint” against him and his family, utilising her brother’s position in Hyderabad to manipulate jurisdiction. He also noted that the wife had received legal summons at her Nirmal address before moving the transfer plea.
The court, after considering both parties’ arguments, found no compelling reason for the transfer and dismissed the woman’s petition..
