Test the reason for transfer

Section 24 does not list grounds; it gives the District Judge and the High Court Division a general power to transfer at any stage. Courts look for a real reason: a reasonable apprehension, based on facts, that a fair hearing will not be had; the convenience of the parties and witnesses; related suits between the same parties that should be tried together to avoid conflicting decrees; or a court that lacks competence.

The High Court Division has warned that bias is a serious allegation which no one should make without evidence, so the lawyer tests the facts before drafting.

Where: Lawyer's chamber · Time: 1-7 days · Law: s.24(1) Code of Civil Procedure 1908; Golam Kibria Tapon v White House Group, Civil Revision No. 24 of 2026, HCD (20 May 2026) · Documents: Order sheet of the present court, Evidence of the facts relied on, Details of any related suits

Tip: Short adjournment dates or adverse interim orders are not, on their own, proof of bias. Challenge a wrong order by the proper remedy instead.

Object early where the suit could be filed in more than one court

Where a suit could have been filed in any of two or more courts and the plaintiff chose one, a defendant who wants it moved to another court with jurisdiction must apply at the earliest possible opportunity, and in any case at or before the settlement of issues, after notice to the other parties. If both courts are subordinate to the same appellate court, the application goes to that court, usually the District Judge; if they are under different appellate courts, it goes to the High Court Division.

Where: Court where the suit is pending (Civil Judge, Senior Civil Judge or Joint District Judge) · Time: Before issues are settled · Law: ss.22 and 23 Code of Civil Procedure 1908 · Documents: Application under section 22, Notice to other parties

Tip: An objection to the place of suing that is not taken at the first opportunity is usually lost, including in appeal and revision under section 21.

Choose the right forum

Under section 24 the District Judge can transfer a suit, appeal or proceeding between courts subordinate to it, which include Additional District Judges and the Joint District Judges, Senior Civil Judges and Civil Judges of the district. The District Judge cannot send a case outside the district, so an inter-district civil case transfer in Bangladesh needs the High Court Division.

The forum must also be competent: the transferee court must have pecuniary and subject-matter jurisdiction, judged by the Civil Courts Act limits of Tk 15 lakh for a Civil Judge and Tk 25 lakh for a Senior Civil Judge.

Where: Lawyer's chamber · Time: 1-3 days · Law: s.24(1) and (3) Code of Civil Procedure 1908; s.19 Civil Courts Act 1887 (as amended 2021 and 2026); s.25A Civil Courts Act 1887 (substituted 2026) · Documents: Plaint showing valuation, List of competent courts in the district

Tip: Name a specific competent court, or a class of courts, in the prayer; a request to send the case 'anywhere' is weaker.

Draft the transfer application

The application to the District Judge identifies the suit, its stage and next date, the court proposed, and each ground with specific dates and incidents. It is supported by an affidavit and certified copies of the order sheet and any orders complained of. Where related suits are involved, it lists them with their numbers and stages. It prays for transfer and for an interim direction to the present court not to proceed, or at least not to deliver judgment, until the application is decided.

Where: Lawyer's chamber · Time: 2-7 days · Law: s.24(1) Code of Civil Procedure 1908; s.151 Code of Civil Procedure 1908 · Documents: Transfer application, Supporting affidavit, Certified copy of the order sheet, Vakalatnama, Court fee

Tip: Keep the tone measured. Applications that attack the judge personally without evidence are often dismissed and criticised.

File and serve notice

The application is filed in the District Judge's court and registered as a transfer miscellaneous case. Section 24 requires notice to the parties and a hearing for those who wish to be heard, unless the District Judge acts of its own motion. The applicant therefore files requisites for service on all other parties. The District Judge may call for the record or a report from the present court on the progress of the suit and any allegation concerning the court.

Where: District Judge's Court · Time: 1-3 weeks · Law: s.24(1) Code of Civil Procedure 1908; Order V rule 9(3) Code of Civil Procedure 1908 (as amended 2026, electronic service in addition to ordinary service) · Documents: Requisites and service costs, Notice of the application, Report of the present court (if called)

Tip: Serve every party, including proforma defendants; an order made without notice to a party can be set aside.

Interim stay of the suit

Pending the hearing, the District Judge may direct the present court to stay further proceedings, or to continue taking evidence but not to deliver judgment. The stay is discretionary and is commonly granted where hearing is near or a decision would make the application pointless. The present court must then hold the suit until told otherwise. Any stay is usually short, because the transfer application itself is expected to be decided quickly.

Where: District Judge's Court · Time: Same day to 2 weeks · Law: s.24(1) Code of Civil Procedure 1908; s.151 Code of Civil Procedure 1908 · Documents: Interim order, Certified copy for the present court

Tip: Deliver the certified interim order to the present court before the next date; an oral report is not enough.

District Judge decides

After hearing the parties, the District Judge either transfers the suit to a named competent court in the district, withdraws it and tries it personally where competent, or rejects the application with reasons. Where the transfer is on a party's application, the order fixes a date for the parties to appear before the transferee court. The District Judge's section 24 order is not appealable, so the main challenge is revision in the High Court Division; a narrow review by the same court is also possible.

Where: District Judge's Court · Time: 1-3 months from filing · Law: s.24(1)(a) and (b) Code of Civil Procedure 1908; s.24A(1) Code of Civil Procedure 1908 · Documents: Order of the District Judge, Certified copy

Tip: Apply for a certified copy on the day of the order; the ninety-day practice for revision starts then.

Apply to the High Court Division

The High Court Division is approached in two situations. First, for a transfer between districts, a party files an original application under section 24, registered as a civil miscellaneous case, with an affidavit sworn at the Supreme Court. Second, a party aggrieved by the District Judge's order files a civil revision under section 115(1), arguing that the order contains an error of law that has caused a failure of justice. In both cases the bench is asked to issue a Rule and stay the suit meanwhile.

Most contested civil case transfer in Bangladesh between districts ends up here.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 1-3 weeks to prepare and file · Law: s.24(1)(b)(ii) Code of Civil Procedure 1908; s.115(1) Code of Civil Procedure 1908; Al Haj Abdur Rashid Hawlader v Noni Vhushon, Civil Miscellaneous Case No. 36 of 2023, HCD (27 November 2025) · Documents: Application under section 24 or revisional application, Affidavit, Certified copies of the order sheet and any District Judge's order

Tip: Choose the proceeding carefully: an original section 24 application for an inter-district move, revision to attack a District Judge's order.

Motion, Rule and stay

At the motion the Division Bench or single bench hearing such matters decides whether there is an arguable case. It may reject the application, or issue a Rule calling on the opposite parties to show cause why the suit should not be withdrawn and transferred, usually with an interim order staying proceedings in the present court for a fixed period. The opposite parties may file an affidavit-in-opposition. Unanswered factual allegations weigh heavily: in one 2025 case the court relied on facts the opposite party had not contradicted.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 1-4 weeks to the motion; 2-9 months to the hearing · Law: s.24(1) Code of Civil Procedure 1908; s.115(1) Code of Civil Procedure 1908; s.151 Code of Civil Procedure 1908 · Documents: Order issuing the Rule, Stay order, Affidavit-in-opposition, Affidavit-in-reply

Tip: Answer every factual allegation on affidavit. Silence is treated as acceptance.

Final order of the High Court Division

After hearing, the High Court Division makes the Rule absolute and withdraws the suit to a named court, in the same or another district, or discharges the Rule and lets the suit continue where it is. It may also direct the transferee court to dispose of the suit expeditiously, for example within six months, and avoid adjournments. In revision it can set aside the District Judge's order and make the transfer itself, or send the matter back to the District Judge to decide properly.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 3-18 months from filing · Law: s.24(1)(b)(ii) and (iii) Code of Civil Procedure 1908; s.115(1) Code of Civil Procedure 1908 · Documents: Judgment and order, Certified copy

Tip: Ask the bench to fix the date of appearance before the transferee court in the order, to avoid delay.

Record sent and parties told

The court that ordered the transfer fixes a date for the parties to appear before the transferee court and communicates the order. Where the transfer was made on the court's own motion, the parties appear on their next date before the present court, which tells them of the transfer and directs them to the new court on the same day or the earliest reasonable day. The present court sends the full record, with exhibits, to the transferee court.

Where: Court where the suit is pending (Civil Judge, Senior Civil Judge or Joint District Judge) · Time: 2-6 weeks · Law: s.24A(1) and (2) Code of Civil Procedure 1908 · Documents: Certified copy of the transfer order, Case record and exhibits

Tip: Check that the record has actually arrived before the appearance date, and file a copy of the order in both courts.

Transferee court takes up the suit

Under section 24(2) the transferee court registers the suit and may either retry it or proceed from the point at which it was transferred, subject to any special directions in the transfer order. In practice evidence already recorded is usually kept and the suit continues from its stage. A suit transferred from a Small Causes Court keeps that character. The 2026 rules on evidence-in-chief by affidavit and on adjournments continue to apply in the new court.

Where: Transferee court (competent civil court in the same or another district) · Time: 1-2 months to the first effective date · Law: s.24(2) and (4) Code of Civil Procedure 1908; Order XVIII rule 4A Code of Civil Procedure 1908 (inserted 2026); Order XVII rule 1(3) Code of Civil Procedure 1908 (as amended 2026) · Documents: Case record, Fresh hearing schedule

Tip: Ask the new court to proceed from the stage reached, unless there is a real reason to recall witnesses.

Decree and the ordinary appeal route

The transferee court tries the suit to decree. The transfer does not change the appeal route, which still depends on the value of the suit and the court that passes the decree: an appeal from a Civil Judge or Senior Civil Judge goes to the District Judge, and from a Joint District Judge to the District Judge up to Tk 5 crore or to the High Court Division above it. A civil case transfer in Bangladesh therefore changes the court, not the remedies that follow judgment.

Where: Transferee court (competent civil court in the same or another district) · Time: Months to years, depending on the stage · Law: s.96 Code of Civil Procedure 1908; s.21 Civil Courts Act 1887 (as amended 2021 and 2026) · Documents: Judgment and decree, Certified copies for appeal

Tip: Do not reargue the transfer in the appeal unless the new court itself caused prejudice.