By the Court.—The First Appeal has been filed under Section 19(1) of The Family Courts Act, 1984 against award dated 8.4.2017 and the decree dated 27.4.2017 drawn by Lok Adalat (Principal Judge, Family Court, Sultanpur).

2. The appeal raises the following question of law for determination :

“Whether appeal is maintainable against an award and/or decree rendered by a Lok Adalat under The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 ?”

3. The facts in brief are that the appellant wife Smt. Soni Kumari preferred a petition for divorce under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act dated 7.3.2017.

The pleading in the divorce petition is to the effect that the appellant is a Hindu and after attaining age of majority got married to the respondent in January, 2016. Thereafter, the appellant and the respondent started living as husband and wife. Initially, the married life was happy, however, after January, 2017, the relations between the husband and wife became strained. The appellant thereafter started feeling that she cannot live as wife of the respondent because of the friction with her husband.

There is no issue from the wedlock.

It has been pleaded that the respondent used to abuse the a