HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH AT JAMMU TrP(C) No.31/2022 CM No.5925/2022 Jatinder Kour ….Petitioner/Appellant(s) Through :- Mr. Abhishek Gupta, Advocate. V/s Manpreet Singh ….Respondent(s) Through :- None. Coram: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH SEKHRI, JUDGE ORDER 07.03.2025 01. Respondent despite service is absent, hence set exparte and the present petition has been taken on board for consideration on merits. 02. Petitioner is aggrieved of an application preferred by the respondent in the Court of learned Additional District Judge Pulwama [“the trial Court”] under Section 25 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 (“the Act”, for short), to claim guardianship of minor child. 03. The case set out by the petitioner is that she entered into a wedlock with the respondent on 04.10.2020 as per Sikh Rites at Ujh Rajbagh, District Kathua and they were blessed with a son. It is allegation of the petitioner that after she was thrown out of the matrimonial home, she along with her child is living in her paternal home at Kathua, where she has preferred a maintenance petition titled „Jatinder Kour & Anr. V. Manpreet Singh in the Court of learned Sub-Judge Special Mobile Magistrate Kathua. It is also alleged by the petitioner that as a counterblast to the said petition, respondent has preferred the aforesaid Sr. No.28 2 application for guardianship of the child in the Court of learned Additional District Judge, Pulwama. 04. The petitioner seeks transfer of the aforesaid application, primarily on the ground that it is only the court, where the child resides, is competent to entertain a petition for guardianship, in terms of Section 9 of the Act. 05. Section 9 of the Act, for the facility of reference thus, reads as below: “9. Court having jurisdiction to entertain application (1) If the application is with respect to the guardianship of the person of the minor, it shall be made to the District Court having jurisdiction in the place where the minor ordinarily resides. (2) xxx xxx xxx (3) xxx xxx xxx.” 06. It is evident from the aforequoted provision that an application with respect to the guardianship of the person of the minor can be made to the District Court having jurisdiction in the place where the minor ordinarily resides. 07. The present address of the petitioner, in the application preferred by the respondent for guardianship of the minor has been reflected as Gurduwara Hardo Muthi Rajbagh, District Kathua. It is also averred by the respondent in his application for guardianship that the petitioner has deserted him and has left the matrimonial home along with the child. Therefore, it is evident from the contents of the petition preferred by the respondent for guardianship in the Court of learned Additional District Judge, Pulwama that the minor along with his mother, the petitioner resides in Kathua, therefore, the said Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the petition and grant the relief prayer for. 08. Having regard to the aforesaid, the present petition is allowed and the application preferred by the respondent, under Section 25 of the Guardians and Wards Act titled „Manpreet Singh V. Chani Kour alias Jatinder Kour‟, file 3 No.13/2022 is transferred from the files of learned Additional District Judge Pulwama to the Court of learned Principal District Judge, Kathua for trial. Petitioner shall appear before the transferee Court on 08.04.2025. 09. Disposed of. 10. Copy of this order be sent to the transferer and transferee Courts for compliance. (Rajesh Sekhri) Judge JAMMU 07.03.2025 Eva