LI Network
Published on: November 25, 2023 at 18:05 IST
The Allahabad High Court clarified that orders passed by the Family Court under Section 125 of the Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973 are not subject to appeal before the High Court under Section 19 of the Family Courts Act, 1984.
Referring to Section 19 of the Family Courts Act, 1984, the bench consisting of Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Shiv Shanker Prasad emphasized that “Save as provided in sub-section (2),” sub-section (2) takes precedence over the right to appeal under Section 19(1). Section 19(2) explicitly denies the right of appeal against orders passed by a Family Court under Chapter IX of the Cr.P.C., and Section 125 Cr.P.C. is an integral part of Chapter IX.
The appellant had initially filed a criminal revision challenging the Family Court’s order granting monthly maintenance to the respondent-wife. Despite withdrawing the revision with the liberty to approach the appropriate forum, there was a delay of 468 days in filing the first appeal before the High Court.
The appellant argued that every order of the Family Court is appealable under Section 19 of the Family Courts Act, 1984. However, the Court, considering the provisions of Section 19(2), held that the right to appeal is restricted by this subsection.
The judgment clarified that, although it is generally expected that orders providing maintenance are appealable, the right of appeal granted under Section 19(1) is limited by the constraints of Section 19(2).
In this context, the Court concluded that the appeal against the Family Court’s order under Section 125 of CrPC was not maintainable.
Case title: Deepak V. Smt. Reena
