The Allahabad High Court has ruled that disputes over property between spouses must be decided by the Family Court and not by a regular civil court. The Court set aside a Ghaziabad civil court judgment in a property dispute between a husband and wife, holding that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to decide the matter.
Justice Sandeep Jain delivered the ruling while allowing an appeal filed by the husband challenging the dismissal of his civil suit.
Background of the Case
The case arose from a dispute between Sachin Kumar and his estranged wife, Smt. Nidhi Dohre. The couple married in February 2015 and later lived together in Ghaziabad.
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According to the husband, he booked a flat in 2017 in a residential project at Aditya World City in Ghaziabad. He claimed that the entire payment for the property, including loan repayments, was made by him. However, he had included his wife’s name as a joint owner in the allotment letter out of “love and affection.”
The husband later alleged that his wife left the matrimonial home in December 2018 and initiated criminal proceedings against him. Claiming that she had not contributed financially to the purchase of the property, he sought a court order directing the developer to execute the sale deed exclusively in his name and restraining his wife from interfering.
The civil court in Ghaziabad dismissed the suit in October 2024.
The trial court held that the flat had been allotted jointly to the husband and wife, and therefore the builder could not be directed to execute the sale deed solely in the husband’s name. It also noted that the husband had failed to produce sufficient documentary proof showing that he alone paid the entire sale consideration.
Aggrieved by this decision, the husband approached the High Court through a first appeal.
The High Court examined the nature of the dispute and the jurisdiction of courts dealing with matrimonial matters.
Justice Sandeep Jain noted that several proceedings between the husband and wife-including divorce, maintenance, and criminal cases-were already pending before different courts. The present dispute related to property rights between spouses arising from their marital relationship.
Referring to Section 7 of the Family Courts Act, 1984, the Court observed that property disputes between parties to a marriage fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Family Court.
“The core dispute pertains to property rights between the spouses, and jurisdiction for adjudication of such disputes vests in the Family Court,” the bench observed.
The Court further held that since the suit was decided by a civil court lacking inherent jurisdiction, the judgment itself could not stand in law.
Allowing the appeal, the High Court set aside the Ghaziabad trial court’s judgment and decree dated October 19, 2024.
The Court restored the original suit and directed the trial court to return the plaint to the plaintiff under Order VII Rule 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 so that it can be filed before the competent Family Court.
It also directed the Family Court to decide the dispute afresh on its merits within six months from the date the plaint is presented before it.
Case Title: Sachin Kumar v. Smt. Nidhi Dohre & Another
Case Number: First Appeal No. 95 of 2026
Decision Date: 10 February 2026
