Can't shift case to other courts to suit in-laws' comfort: HC

KOCHI: If a woman files a complaint of domestic violence to the jurisdictional magistrate, hearing in the case cannot be shifted to any other court to suit the convenience of the in-laws, the Kerala high court has held.
The ruling by Justice V K Mohanan came while considering a petition filed by the in-laws of a woman who had filed a petition under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, to JFCM-I of Kottarakkara.
In the complaint filed to the magistrate on January 15 after the marital relationship with her husband strained, the woman had sought monetary relief, residential accommodation, and maintenance. Considering the petition, the magistrate had issued summons to the in-laws on January 16.
In the high court, the woman's father-in-law, 60-year-old K Raveendran, and mother-in-law 56-year-old Usha Raveendran sought to transfer the case to JFCM-II Mavelikkara. Their counsel R Padmakumar said that the father-in-law is a disabled person and the mother-in-law is old. Opposing the plea, the woman's counsel K Siju submitted that though the father-in-law claimed to be a disabled person, he is attending work in a timber depot.
Disagreeing to transfer the case, Justice Mohanan held, "Considering the object of the Act and the circumstance under which the present petition is filed, it is improper and incorrect in directing the woman to prosecute her grievance in a court beyond the jurisdiction of the court where she is residing so as to enable the petitioners, who are respondents (in the woman's complaint to the magistrate court) to participate in the court proceedings according to their convenience."