Bombay HC Transfers Marriage Petition From Vasai To Bandra For Wife, Imposes ₹1 Lakh Fine On Husband For Inhuman Treatment

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has allowed the petition filed by the wife seeking the transfer of a Marriage Petition from the Family Court (FC) in Vasai to Bandra observing that it cannot add to her difficulty and woes by making her travel for eight hours, on an average, with the infant, for the court proceedings. The court underlined that she would have to undertake the arduous journey in the local train from Mahim to Vasai Road Station, and thereafter take a bus to the Vasai Court, which is 6.5-7 kilometres away.

The husband had filed a marriage petition before the FC in Vasai seeking dissolution of marriage on the grounds of cruelty.

Wife’s Advocate Nazneen Contractor submitted that the wife is residing with her retired father, homemaker mother, two unmarried brothers, and her 15-month-old daughter, for whom she is the primary caregiver. Contractor explained that the wife faces severe difficulties travelling from Mahim to Vasai for court proceedings, a journey that takes her eight hours on average. She is unable to leave her daughter, who was born prematurely and still requires regular medical attention, at home due to her mother’s poor health. The expenses for the wife and her child are currently borne by her father and brothers.

Additionally, the wife has filed a separate case for cruelty against her husband and his family, which is still pending trial, and has sought maintenance due to financial constraints.

Husband’s Advocate Rahul Sharma argued that the wife could continue travelling to Vasai as she had done so far. He offered to cover her travel expenses. However, the court found his argument to be “insensitive and inhumane”, given the circumstances.

The court noted that the husband, who owns three salons in Vasai and is financially well-off, has not paid a “farthing” for the wife’s or the child’s needs.

The arduous journey from Mahim to Vasai involves taking overcrowded local trains and buses, making it especially challenging for the wife to travel with her infant daughter. “If Applicant - wife has to travel along with her infant / minor daughter, 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, Applicant - wife would have to take care of her in fact / minor daughter which would add to her degree of difficulty,” Justice Milind Jadhav said on October 3.

The court emphasised that the husband’s financial offer to cover travel costs does not alleviate the physical and emotional burden on the wife.

Given that the husband had not filed an affidavit in reply and considering his lack of empathy, the court imposed exemplary costs of Rs 1 lakh on him, to be paid to the wife. This amount, the court held, would help alleviate some of the hardships faced by the wife over the past 21 months. The husband was directed to pay the amount within two weeks, failing which it would be recovered as arrears of land revenue by the Collector, Palghar, and handed over to the wife.