Bombay High Court Slaps Rs 1 Lakh Cost On Husband Who Opposed Wife's Plea To Transfer Divorce Proceedings Despite Her Hardships

The Bombay High Court recently came to the aide of a woman, who was being 'compelled' by her estranged husband to travel at least 8 hours along with her pre-term born now 15-months old son, to attend divorce proceedings and also slapped a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the husband in order to ameliorate her hardships.

Single-judge Justice Milind Jadhav noting the 'hardships' of the woman, transferred the divorce proceedings initiated by the husband at Vasai in Thane district to Bandra Family Court in Mumbai.

The judge noted that the wife is having a minor son to provide care and support including his medical needs, whereas the husband did not pay even a single farthing to redress and ameliorate the difficulty faced by her. Further, the judge noted that the journey from Mahim in suburban Mumbai to Vasai in Thane district, is an 'arduous' one, especially in the local trains. The judge noted that to attend proceedings in Vasai Court, the applicant woman will have to take a local from Mahim to Vasai Road Station, thereafter alight at Vasai Road Station and go to Vasai Road bus stand to take a bus to the Vasai Court which is situated in the interior at a distance of 6.7 kms and would have to undertake the same journey while returning back from Vasai Court to her residence at Mahim.

"If the wife has to travel along with her minor son, it would be all the more difficult for her to travel, since boarding and alighting from the local train on the western railway corridor at any given time during the day is an extremely difficult proposition considering that trains are overcrowded at all times. While undertaking the train journey, she would have to take care of her infant, which would add to her degree of difficulty. That apart, from Vasai Road bus station to the Court and back, there are only two modes of public transport available namely the MSRTC buses which are always overcrowded and in the alternate auto-rickshaws which ply the said distance at an exorbitant cost," Justice Jadhav said in the order passed on October 3.

The Court further noted that while the woman was dependent on her parents, the husband owned three salons at Vasai and earned well. It rejected the argument of the husband that he would pay the travel expenses for the wife and thus she should travel to Vasai.

"Financially, the husband is therefore, well off. Merely due to that reason, he cannot insist that he will bear the travel cost of the wife to attend the proceedings in Marriage Petition in Vasai. The submission made by husband is without consideration of the wife's case altogether. Not once has the husband considered the fact that she is required to support and care for her 15 month old son and if she is to attend the proceedings in Vasai Court, how and who would take care of the child in her absence," the bench said.

Further, the judge noted these multiple hardships faced by the wife on almost all counts and therefore opined that by not transferring the divorce proceedings, the court cannot add to the difficulty and woes of the wife.

"It is seen that the wife is a single mother requiring to take care of her infant, who is born pre-term and is therefore facing constant health issues. The well-being of the son should undoubtedly be at the forefront and of paramount importance for the parents. However in the present case the entire responsibility is on the mother and the father has completely exonerated himself of his duty as a parent to the detriment of the mother and child. I can see no remorse or sympathy in the submissions made by the father through his advocate," the judge underscored.

Thus, the court transferred the proceedings to Family Court, Bandra and while doing so imposed 'exemplary costs' of Rs 1 lakh on the husband, to be paid to the wife.

"The wife, in my opinion has clearly endured suffering for the last 21 months from the date of birth of her son and further more from the date of filing of the Marriage Petition by the husband in the Vasai Court, In my opinion, the wife deserves the award of costs as it would go a long way in ameliorating her hardship and difficulty in the interest of justice," the judge added.

Appearance:

Advocates Nazneen Contractor and Mr. Kripashankar Pandey appeared for the Wife.

Advocates RS Tripathi and Mohammad Shahid represented the Husband

Case Title: S vs R (MCA/252/2024)

Click Here To Read/Download The Judgment