The court clarified the appeal process under Section 19 of the Family Courts Act, 1984, and highlighted the distinction in jurisdiction between different acts.

The present appeal has been preferred by the husband. The ORDER :under challenge is the ORDER :dated 28th June, 2008, whereby the Principal Judge, Family Court, Ara while disposing of two applications being Miscellaneous Case No. 58 of 2007 and Miscellaneous Case No. 117 of 2007 for grant of maintenance and permanent alimony made by the wife granted her alimony of Rs. 2,000/ - per month from the date of the ORDER :.

2. The registry has raised an objection that the Miscellaneous appeal is not maintainable from an ORDER :disposing of Misc. Case No. 117/2007 and against the said ORDER :first appeal ought to have been filed. The office, in this connection has referred to an ORDER :dated 17th April, 2007 said to have been passed in M.A. 74/2006.

3. Section 19 of the Family Courts Act, 1984 reads thus:-

"19. Appeal.-(1) Save as provided in sub-section (2) and notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) or in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) or in any other law, an appeal shall lie from every JUDGMENT : or ORDER :, not being an interlocutory ORDER :, of a Family Court to the High Court both on facts and on law.

(2) No appeal shall lie from a decree or ORDER :passed by the Family Court with the consent of the parties [or from an ORDER :passed under Chapter IX of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974):

Provided that nothing in this subsection shall apply to any appeal pending before a High Court or any ORDER :passed under Chapter IX of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) before the commencement of the Family Courts (Amendment) Act, 1991].

(3) Every appeal under this section shall be preferred within a period of thirty days from the date of the JUDGMENT : or ORDER :of a Family Court.

(4) The High Court may, of its own motion or otherwise, call for and examine the record of any proceeding in which the Family Court situate within its jurisdiction passed an ORDER :under Chapter-IX of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) for the purpose of satisfying itself as to the correctness, legality or propriety of the ORDER :, not being an interlocutory ORDER :, and, as to the regularity of such proceeding.]

(5) Except as aforesaid, no appeal or revision shall lie to any court from any JUDGMENT :, ORDER :or decree of a Family Court.

(6) An appeal preferred under subsection (1) shall be heard by a Bench consisting of two or more Judges."

4. By this provision, inter alia, an appeal has been provided from every JUDGMENT : or ORDER :, not being an interlocutory ORDER :, of a Family Court. Such appeal would lie to the High Court both on facts and on law. An exception to the aforesaid provision is that from a consent ORDER :or decree of a Family Court no appeal shall lie. The rest of the provision contained in Section 19 being unnecessary for the present purpose is not discussed by us. Pertinently, it may be observed that Section 19 does not provide that a JUDGMENT : or ORDER :of the Family Court is appeal-able as a decree of the Court made in the exercise of original jurisdiction.

5. At this stage, we may consider Section 28 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which provides thus:-

"28. Appeals from decree and ORDER :s.-(1) All decrees made by the court in any proceeding under this Act shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section (3), be appeal-able as decrees of the court made in the exercise of its original civil jurisdiction, and every such appeal shall lie to the court to which appeals ordinarily lie from the decision of the court given in the exercise of its original civil jurisdiction.

(2) ORDER :s made by the court in any proceeding under this Act under Section 25 or Section 26 shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section (3), be appeal-able if they are not interim ORDER :s, and every such appeal shall lie to the court to which appeals ordinarily lie from the decisions of the court given in exercise of its original civil jurisdiction.

(3) There shall be no appeal