JUDGMENT

B. Mukerji, J. - This is a special appeal against the decision of a learned single Judge whereby the learned Judge dismissed a First Appeal From Order.

2. The First Appeal from Order to this Court arose out of guardianship proceedings. On the 21st of January, 1958, Mehar Singh, the respondent, applied for being appointed a guardian of Smt. Anguri Devi, who, Mehar Singh alleged, was his wedded wife. Mehar Singh's application purported to be under Section 7 read with Section 12 of the Guardian and Wards Act. There was opposition to Mehar Singh's claim to being appointed a guardian on behalf of Anguri Devi's mother, Smt. Parsandi, and one Kali Ram who also was a near relation of Anguri Devi. In this connection it may be of some consequence to notice that there was another application for guardianship by one Parma Nand who claimed to be a distant uncle of the girl, Anguri Devi.

3. In the petition the date of birth of Anguri Devi was given as 13th December, 1940. There was no allegation in the petition that Anguri Devi had ever been under the guardianship of Mehar Singh or ever stayed with him. There was, therefore, no allegation of Anguri Devi having left the guardianship of a lawful guardian or her having taken away from any lawful guardian under whose care she had been. At the stage of the trial of the guardianship matter a claim was made on behalf of Mehar Singh for Anguri Devi being put in his custody. The claim for the custody of the alleged minor was made under Section 12 which only related to temporary custody and not the type of permanent custody which was sought by Mehar Singh in this particular case.

4. As we said above, there was a contest both by Srimati Parsandi, the mother, and Kali Ram in regard to Mehar Singh's claim to guardianship of Anguri Devi. It was alleged on behalf of both the mother and Kali Ram that Anguri Devi had never been married to Mehar Singh. The question which came to me hotly contested between the parties, therefore, was whether Anguri Devi had ever been married to Mehar Singh. The trial court, namely, the court of the District Judge of Saharanpur, went into this question of marriage between Mehar Singh and Anguri Devi. A volume of evidence appears to have been led on either side. The evidence that was led was not, however, of the type that could be said to put the matter beyond the pale of controversy or to which the ring of truth attached without question. The evidence depended the status and the future happiness of young people. There was, it may be stressed in this connection, no such documentary evidence depended the status and the future happiness of two parents of the girl on which reliance could be placed in this case for holding in favour of one or the other of the contesting parties on the question of marriage. The question was beset with many difficulties as would be obvious to any one who scrutinised the evidence that was led in this case.

The learned District Judge entered upon a scrutiny of the evidence and came to the conclusion that Mehar Singh had been married to Anguri Devi. That finding of fact appears to have been accepted without much demur by the learned single Judge. We, however, have not felt sure about the correctness of that finding but then we are not inclined to finally determine the question, for we are of the opinion that a court exercising jurisdiction under the Guardian and Wards Act should, as far as possible, refrain from entering into disputed questions involving legal status like that of marriage, adoption, etc., for the obvious reason that proceedings under the Guardian and Wards Act are summary proceedings meant primarily for safeguarding the interests of a minor who is, and always remains, a ward of the Court. It was in the court investigated into the question as to whether or not the court could hand over its own responsibility of looking after a minor's property and person to another. The court had the power to investigate as to whether or not the