Madras HC Transfers Wife's Maintenance Case, Citing Husband's Blood Cancer & Inability To Travel 370 Km
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has transferred a maintenance case filed by a woman before the Judicial Magistrate Court, Ambattur, to the Family Court at Tiruchirappalli, after taking into consideration her husband's blood cancer and the difficulty he faced in travelling around 370 km for the proceedings.
Justice P. Vadamalai passed the order on September 24 in a transfer petition filed by Husband/S. Manikandan under Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Manikandan and the first respondent/R. Vasantha Kumari are husband and wife. Their marriage was solemnised at Pudukkottai on January 26, 2011, according to Hindu rites and customs. They have two children.
The couple has been living separately following differences between them. According to the husband's case, his wife left the matrimonial home in 2020, after which she and the children initiated maintenance proceedings in 2025 before the Judicial Magistrate, Ambattur.
The husband submitted that the couple had initially lived in Singapore and that he was subsequently diagnosed with blood cancer, following which he returned to India and underwent treatment.
He had also instituted divorce proceedings before the Family Court at Pudukkottai.
The wife had earlier approached the High Court seeking transfer of those divorce proceedings from Pudukkottai to Chennai. However, considering the husband's health condition, the High Court had transferred the case to the Family Court at Tiruchirappalli.
In the present proceedings, the husband submitted that travelling from his native place to Ambattur involved a distance of approximately 370 km and was difficult for him in view of his medical condition.
His counsel further submitted that the husband was unable to walk even for five minutes and had not fully recovered. It was also stated that he was unable to engage in employment and was not earning at present.
The High Court noted that the earlier order transferring the divorce proceedings to Tiruchirappalli was available in the record and affirmed the husband's version regarding his health condition.
The Court also took note of a medical record produced by the husband showing that he was suffering from a hematological condition. The wife, despite being served with notice, did not appear before the Court or place any contrary facts on record.
The Husband also alleged that due to misunderstanding, the couple are living separately and that his wife left the matrimonial home without any reason
However, the Court clarified that the allegations made by the husband concerning the matrimonial dispute could not be examined while deciding the transfer petition. "The allegation of the petitioner cannot be looked into in this petition, as this petition is filed only for transfer of case" Court remarked.
Finding the circumstances sufficient to allow the transfer, the Court ordered that the maintenance case be withdrawn from the file of the Judicial Magistrate, Ambattur and transferred to the Family Court at Tiruchirappalli for disposal in accordance with law.
The Magistrate at Ambattur was directed to transmit the entire records of the maintenance case to the transferee court within two weeks from receipt of a copy of the order. The Court made no order as to costs.
Case Title: S. Manikandan v R. Vasantha Kumari And Ors