THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE V. GOPALA KRISHNA RAO TRANSFER CRIMINAL PETITION No.28 of 2024 ORDER: The petitioner/respondent herein filed the present petition under Section 407 of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (for short, ‘the Cr.P.C.’), seeking to withdraw M.C.No.5 of 2023, on the file of Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Puttaparthy and transfer the same to the file of Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Penukonda for trial and disposal. 2. The case of the petitioner in brief is as follows: i. The petitioner is none other than the husband of the 1st respondent and 1st respondent filed a maintenance case vide M.C.No.5 of 2023 and now the present maintenance case is pending before the Judicial Magistrate of First Class at Puttaparthy. The petitioner further pleaded that now he is residing at Penukonda at where C.C.No.236 of 2023, on the file of Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Penukonda was filed by the petitioner and the same is pending for adjudication. The petitioner further pleaded that the 1st respondent and her family members and their followers are threatening him not to appear in maintenance case otherwise they will do away with his life. He further pleaded that he is 2 apprehending imminent danger to his life. As such he filed this Tr.Crl.M.P.No.19 of 2023, on the file of Principal District and Session Judge, Ananthapuramu, seeking to transfer the M.C.No.5 of 2023 from the Court of learned Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Puttaparty to the Court of learned Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Penukonda and the learned District Judge dismissed the said application and that he is constrained to file the present application. 3. Heard Sri K.Mohan Rami Reddy, learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri S.Krishna Reddy, learned counsel for the 1st respondent and learned Assistant Public Prosecutor appearing for the respondent No.2. 4. As seen from the material available on record, the 1st respondent/wife approached the Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Puttaparthy, seeking maintenance for maintaining her livelihood, and it is also contended by the learned counsel for respondent No.1 that respondent No.1/wife has been residing within the jurisdiction of the Judicial Magistrate of First Class at Puttaparthy, where M.C.No.5 of 2023 is pending. It is also brought to the notice of the Court that another case is also pending for disposal before the Judicial Magistrate of First Class at Puttaparthy. 5. The grounds raised by the petitioner/husband seeking the transfer of M.C. No. 5 of 2023 from the Judicial Magistrate of First 3 Class, Puttaparthy, to the Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Penukonda, are that respondent No. 1, her family members, and their followers are threatening him not to appear in the maintenance case. Admittedly no prima facie material has been placed on record to prove his contention in this petition. 6. It is well settled that mere threat cannot be considered as a ground for transferring a maintenance case from one jurisdiction to another, as consistently held by the Hon’ble Apex Court in catena of judgments. The vague and vexatious allegations, without any element of truth, that there is threat in the hands of the respondent No.1 to the petitioner herein to appear before the Court below cannot be considered for transferring maintenance case filed by wife from one Court to another. Mere allegations of threat or apprehension are not sufficient to order transfer unless such apprehension is reasonable, genuine and supported by prima facie material. Admittedly, no prima facie evidence is produced by the petitioner to prove the alleged threat in the present Transfer Criminal Petition. 7. Learned counsel for the petitioner further contends that the maintenance case i.e., M.C. No. 5 of 2023, may be transferred to another Court, namely the Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Ananthapuramu. However, it is not the case of either party that the petitioner/husband or respondent/wife resides in Ananthapuramu. 4 Therefore, I do not find any merit in the contention raised by the petitioner. 8. It is brought to the notice of the Court by counsel for respondent/wife that the maintenance case is stalled at the stage of enquiry, that too in a maintenance case where respondent No. 1/wife is seeking maintenance from her husband, and there is no progress in M.C. No. 5 of 2023 before the trial Court. 9. For the aforesaid reasons, I do not find any valid grounds to consider the request of the petitioner/husband, since the maintenance case has been instituted by respondent No. 1/wife in the year 2023, therefore, I am of the considered view that it is desirable to direct the learned Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Puttaparthy, to dispose of M.C.No.5 of 2023 within a period of four (4) months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order and report compliance to the Registrar (Judicial) without fail. 10. With the above observations, this Transfer Criminal Petition is dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs. As a sequel, miscellaneous petitions, if any pending and the Interim Order granted earlier, if any, shall stand closed. _______________________________ JUSTICE V. GOPALA KRISHNA RAO Date: 29.12.2025 MH 5 25 THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE V. GOPALA KRISHNA RAO TRANSFER CRIMINAL PETITION No.28 of 2024 Date: 29.12.2025 MH