Additional District Judge Can Hear Divorce Plea Under Section 27 Of Special Marriage Act: Andhra Pradesh High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court recently held that an Additional District Judge has the jurisdiction to hear and dispose of divorce petitions filed under Section 27 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

Justice R. Raghunandan Rao added that Section 11(2) of the A.P Civil Courts Act empowers the District Judge to transfer cases to the Additional District Judge, thus strengthening the above observation. 

“Even otherwise Section 11(2) (the A.P. Civil Courts Act, 1972) empowers the District Judge to transfer any case to the Additional District Judge who would have the same power as that of the District Judge in disposing of the transfer cases. In the circumstances, it cannot be held that an Additional District Judge is barred from considering or disposing of divorce petitions filed under the Special Marriage Act.”

The petitioner and respondent were married under the Special Marriage Act in December 2017. Due to differences between them, the respondent-wife filed various cases including a maintenance case and domestic violence case before the Additional Judicial Magistrate, Bhimavaram. Meanwhile, the petitioner filed a divorce petition before the Principal District Judge, Eluru.

The respondent sought to transfer the divorce petition to Additional District Judge, Bhimavaram and this transfer was granted by the Principal District Judge in March 2023. Aggrieved by this, the petitioner approached the High Court with a revision petition.

Senior Advocate P. Venugopala Rao appearing on behalf of Advocate Sambasiva Pratap Evana for the petitioner argued that according to Section 2(e) of the Act, a divorce petition must be filed before the Principal District Judge or a civil court specified by the State Government. Thus, he contended that Additional District Judges could not be considered as having jurisdiction for these cases under the Act.

Furthermore, he referenced Section 40-A of the Act which only permits transfers between District Courts. He also argued that a joint reading of Sections 10 and 11 of the A.P. Civil Courts Act makes it evident that only the District Judge has the authority to assign cases to specific courts. This power doesn't extend to the Principal District Judge transferring a divorce petition under the Special Marriage Act to an Additional District Judge.

Advocate P.N. Murthy appearing for the respondent countered that Section 2(e) defines "district court" inclusively, encompassing both Principal District Judges and Additional District Judges. He cited the Andhra Pradesh Civil Courts Act to explain that it provides for the establishment of District Courts and the appointment of Additional District Judges, who perform the same functions as District Judges.

The Court concluded that the term "district court" under Section 2(e) should be understood inclusively, covering both Principal District Judges and Additional District Judges. 

“Such inclusive definitions are never treated as an exhaustive enumeration of objects or entities mentioned in the definition alone. Such an inclusive definition would mean that there can be other categories or classes of objects or entities falling within the ambit of the definition, even if they have not been specifically enumerated in the definition” The Court noted.

The Bench also observed that a plain reading of the A.P. Civil Courts Act makes it clear that both Principal District Judge and the Additional District Judge are part of the District Court.

“This provision (Section 11 of the A.P. Civil Courts Act, 1972) makes it amply clear that both the District Judge and the Additional District Judge are part of the District Court. This gains significance as Section 27 (Special Marriage Act) requires an application to be filed before the District Court and not before the Principal District Judge.” 

Based on these considerations, the court affirmed that a divorce petition should be filed before the Principal District Judge, who can either handle the case personally or transfer it to an Additional District Judge. 

As such, the petition was dismissed. 

Case Title: Vase Ananda Rao v. Smt. Vase Lakshmi Pragna

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (AP) 44

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