Govinda Menon, J.-This is an appeal under sections 19 and 47 of the Guardian and Wards Act against the order of the learned District Judge of Cuddappah by which the learned District Judge dismissed an application by the appellant herein under section 10 of the same statute for a declaration that he is the guardian of his minor son who was born on the 15th April, 1944.

The two grounds on which the learned District Judge dismissed the application are firstly, that since the death of the minor’s mother immediately after the birth of the minor, the father, the appellant, has married a second wife and is now living in the house of the second wife’s father. The second reason which impelled the learned Judge to reject the application is that the petition to the lower Court was made 19 months after and therefore there was undue delay in the making of it. In our opinion, the learned Judge’s view that the application was made 19 months later is based upon a misconception.

A few facts have to be stated in order to understand the exact situation. The minor was born on the 15th April, 1944, and the mother died immediately. The joint family of which the appellant was a member consisted of himself

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