TARUN CHANDRA DEKA Vs. JAMINI MAHANTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner herein, who is maternal grandfather of Bhaswati Mahanto, a minor, had applied to the Court of District Judge, Kamrup, at Guwahati, under Section 10 read with Section 7 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, seeking to be appointed as guardian in respect of the person and property of the said minor. The maintainability of the said application was resisted by the Opposite party herein, who is father of the said minor, on the ground that, in the face of the provisions of Sections 7 and 8 of the Family Courts Act, 1984, the District Court does not have jurisdiction to entertain such an application, and, hence, the application for appointment as guardian of the said minor ought to have been filed in the Family Court, at Guwahati, inasmuch as the Family Court, having been established, has the jurisdiction to decide an application in respect of the person as well as property of a minor, who resides within the territorial limits of the jurisdiction of the Family Court.

(2.) HAVING taken note of the objections raised by the opposite party as regards maintainability of the application made to the District Court for appointment of guardianship of person as well as property of the said minor, learned Additional District Judge, No. 1, Kamrup, Guwahati, passed an order, on 12. 02. 2009, holding that the Family Court, at Guwahati, has the jurisdiction to decide the question of appointment of guardians of a minor and having reached this conclusion, the learned Court below directed the applicant to file application for appointment of guardian of the said minor in the Court of competent jurisdiction. Aggrieved by the decision so taken, the petitioner has come to this Court, with this application, made under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, seeking to get aside and quashed the impugned order.

(3.) THE limited question, which the present application, has raised is this : On establishment of a Family Court, under the Family Court Act, 1984, for a given area, whether a suit or proceeding, for guardianship of person as well as property of a minor, can be made to the District Court, by resorting to the provsions of Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, or whether such an application can be made only to the Family Court, which has been established for exercising jurisdiction in the given aea.