JUDGMENT :

The following judgment of the Court is delivered by Prashant Kumar Mishra, Acting Chief Justice.

1. This appeal under Section 19 (1) of the Family Courts Act, 1984 (for short 'the Act, 1984') has been preferred by the husband of the deceased wife challenging the judgment and decree of the trial Court allowing the suit preferred by the appellant's father-in-law for return of the properties gifted to his late daughter Pratima Singh at the time of her marriage with the appellant.

2. While deciding the suit the trial Court has also rejected the appellant's objection to the maintainability of the suit before the Family Court to hold that the Family Court has jurisdiction to decide the suit.

3. The substantial part of the argument advanced before us revolved on this issue, therefore, we shall first deal with the issue concerning jurisdiction of the Family Court.

4. Facts of the case, very briefly stated, are that the appellant and Late Pratima Singh were married on 23-6-2007. Pratima Singh committed suicide on 3-1-2009 for which an offence under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code was registered against the family members of the appellant, but we are not concerned with the dispute