Inappropriateness of ex parte transfer orders affecting women with dependent children

Ex parte transfer orders passed by high courts on the request of a husband must be scrutinized with utmost care, especially when they severely impact a woman left alone with minor children to prosecute litigation at a distant location. Transferring criminal proceedings to a distant court without ensuring proper notice and representation to the wife places an undue and unfair burden on her, aggravating her logistical and financial travails. Judicial discretion regarding the transfer of cases should not disregard the practical hardships faced by a single mother handling dependent children. An order that upends the convenience of the custodial parent without sound justification or adequate hearing runs counter to the principles of fair play. Appellate courts will readily set aside such ex parte administrative transfers to restore proceedings to the appropriate local forum. Ensuring access to justice requires that female litigants are not subjected to arbitrary forum shifts engineered to frustrate their legal remedies. Therefore, a balance must be struck to prevent the misuse of transfer petitions as instruments of harassment in matrimonial disputes. (Prasanna Kasini v. The State of Telangana & Anr. | 2026 INSC 30)