The word "custody" in Section 25 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, includes legal or formal custody, and the court has jurisdiction to pass an order under Section 25 even when the minor has never been in the actual or constructive custody of the guardian.

S. S. DHAVAN, J.

( 1 ) THIS is an appeal against an order passed by the learned District Judge of Bijnor under Section 25 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, directing that the custody of a girl called Bhagwati should be given to her sister Smt. Mungia, who is the respondent in this appeal. The appellant chandrapal claims to be the husband of the girl. Bhagwati is admittedly an orphan having lost both her parents in her early infancy. She was living with a woman called Ramo when she is alleged to have been married to Chandra Pal. There is a dispute about her age, the appellant Chandrapal alleging that she was born on 10-2-1941 and her sister saying that she was born on 10-3-1943. On 4-4-57 this sister, Smt. Mungia, made an application under Section 7 of the Guardians and Wards Act for being appointed as a guardian of the girl and also asked for custody of her property which was substantial in value. On 24-4-1957 she made another application for an injunction restraining smt. Ramo and her son Ram Swarup from marrying off the girl during the pendency of her application. The court issued an ex-parte order of injunction. On 6-5-1957 she applied for a direction to Smt. Ramo to produce the girl in court. On 18-5-1957 both Smt. Ramo and her son Ram Swarup, with whom the girl had admittedly been living, made a formal appearance in the proceedings. On 23-5-1957 they made a statement in writing that the girl Bhagwati had been married to a man called Chandrapal (the present appellant) on 25-3-1957 and consequently she was no longer in their custody. On 25-5-1957 the learned Judge allowed Smt. Mungias application and appointed her as the guardian of the girl. Three days later, on 28-5-1957, the guardian made an application under section 25 of the Act praying that the girl be caused to be arrested by a warrant and restored to her custody. In this application it was alleged that the girl was in the possession of the appellant chandrapal. The application was allowed on 29-5-1957 when the learned Judge directed the issue of a warrant under Section 100 Cr. P. C. read with Section 25 of the Guardians and Wards act for the production of the minor girl before him by the 15th of June, 1957. He held that the return of the. minor to the custody of the guardian was for her welfare. It appears that this warrant could not be executed. On 11-9-1957 the guardian Smt. Mungia filed an application in this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution for a writ of habeas-corpus directing the appellant Chandrapal and the woman Smt. Ramo to produce the girl in Court. On 26-11-1957 this Court dismissed the petition on the ground that the petitioner had made out no case for holding that the respondents were illegally or improperly detaining the girl Bhagwati and that the petition did not mention any fact to prove that the custody of the respondents was illegal. The Court observed that the case of Smt. Mungia was founded on her appointment as a guardian, but before her appointment the girl had been in the custody of the respondents who were not a party to the guardianship proceedings. On 16-12-1957 Smt. Mungia made another application before the learned Judge praying for an order directing the appellant Chandrapal to produce the girl Bhagwat. She alleged that Bhagwati was in his custody. This application was rejected on the ground that Chandrapal had not been a party to the guardianship proceedings, and therefore no order could be issued to him. On 18-1-1958 Smt. Mungia filed an application under Section 25 asking for the arrest of the minor from the house of chandrapal and for her return to the guardian. On 15-3-1958 the application was allowed by the learned Judge, who directed a warrant to be issued as prayed. On 29-3-1958 the girl Bhagwati was arrested in the village of Chandrapal and produced before the learned Judge at his residence on the same date. The girl Bhagwati made a statement before him that she had never been married to the appellant chandrapal b