Durgesh Sharma v. Jayshree, (2008) 9 SCC 648

Durgesh Sharma (Appellant-Husband) and Jayshree Sharma (Respondent-Wife) were married in 1989 in Malegaon, Maharashtra, but later lived together in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. The husband alleged that the wife left the matrimonial home in 1991 and permanently deserted him in 1997 without justifiable reason. He filed for divorce under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 in Ujjain Family Court in 2004, claiming desertion and cruelty.

The wife contested the allegations, stating that she was living in Malegaon (Maharashtra) with their twin children, and that the husband had neither provided maintenance nor fulfilled his marital obligations. She also filed a separate petition for restitution of conjugal rights in Malegaon and initiated maintenance proceedings under Section 125 CrPC.

Seeking relief from the burden of traveling 400 km alone to Ujjain, she moved the Madhya Pradesh High Court under Section 23(3) CPC, requesting the transfer of the divorce case from Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) to Malegaon (Maharashtra).

The Madhya Pradesh High Court granted the transfer, which the husband challenged before the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court extensively analyzed the transfer of civil cases under Sections 22 to 25 CPC and held that a High Court can transfer cases only between courts subordinate to it. A High Court cannot transfer a case from a court subordinate to it to a court subordinate to another High Court. Such inter-state transfers fall exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Section 25 CPC.