IMPORTANT POINT
An appeal shall lie from every judgment or order of a Family Court to the High Court, not being an interlocutory order, as per Section 19(1) of the Family Courts Act, 1984.

ORDER :

1. Heard.

2. This petition has been iled under Article 227 of the Constitution of India being aggrieved by the judgment dated 22.04.2024 passed by the Principal Judge Family Court, Bilaspur in Civil MJC No.12/2022, whereby, the application preferred by the wife/respondent under Order 9 Rule 13 read with Section 151 of the CPC was allowed and the exparte decree passed in Civil Suit No.294A/2018 by the Principal Judge Family Court, Bilaspur was set aside.

3. The question that has arisen before this Court is whether against the order passed on an application filed under Order 9 Rule 13 of the CPC, an appeal would lie under Section 19 of the Family Courts Act, 1984 (in short “the Act, 1984”) or not. For the sake of brevity, Section 19 of the Act, 1984 is reproduced below :

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.

4. On a plain reading of the aforesaid provision, it is clear that save and except from an interlocutory order or an order or a decree passed on consent of the parties and order passed under Chapter IX of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, an appeal shall lie from every judgment or order of a Family Court to the High Court both on facts and law.

5. In the case at hand, the order assailed is neither passed on consent nor it is an order passed under Chapter IX of the Cr.PC. Thus, this Court shall examine as to whether the impugned order is an interlocutory one. If the answer is in affirmative, no appeal shall lie from such order and vice versa.

6. Considering the nature of the order, at no stretch of imagination, the impugned order can be said to be an interlocutory order. Hence, this Court is of the considered view that the impugned order being not an interlocutory one, is appealable under Section 19(1) of the Family Courts Act, 1984.

7. At this juncture, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that he does not want to press this petition and would choose to file an appeal.

8. Accordingly, this petition is dismissed as not pressed reserving liberty in favour of the petitioner to file an appeal under Section 19 of the Family Courts Act, 1984.

9. The certified copy of the impugned order be returned to learned counsel for the petitioner after retaining a photocopy of the same.

10. No order as to cost(s).