D. M. DHARMADHIKARI, J.

( 1 ) IN this appeal filed by the grand parents under Section 47 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 (shortly referred as the Act), the question before this Court is whether the custody of child Narendra Kumar, now aged 11 years, is to be allowed to remain with the appellants by appointing them as his guardians or directing the appellants to return the custody of the minor to respondent Smt. Suchhi Bai who is his natural guardian mother.

( 2 ) THE dispute about guardianship of minor arose between the parties in the background of following facts and events :the father of the child was Constable in Police force posted at Dantewada in District Bastar in the State of M. P. On 4-6-92 in an encounter with Naxalites he was killed in a bomb explosion. The child Narendra was born on 27-10-87. Since his birth he lived with mother and the grand parents in a house jointly by them in village Parsada about 50 kms. for Mahasamund in Raipur District. As a result of killing of the father of the child in police encounter with Naxalites, the State Government granted an ex-gratia payment of a sum of Rs. 1,50,000/- which has been kept in the joint accounts in the Bank in the name of the minor, grand father and mother Smt. Suchhibai. From the pleadings and evidence on record, it appears that serious disputes and quarrels arose between the grand father and the mother of the child on the question ofoperating the joint bank account. The relation between them got so much strained that the relatives on the maternal side of the respondent mother intervened. They came and approached appellant grand father Keshav Ram Thakur at his village Parsada. There were police reports made against them for having terrorised and assaulted the grandfather and members of his family. It is because of the above dispute between the members of the family on the two sides of the mother that on 4-6-92 the mother left the matrimonial home at Parsada and came to her father at village Pirda which is about 40 kms. from Mahasamund. According to the appellants who are grand parents, the mother was only interested in exclusively getting the amount deposited in the Bank, she ran away from the house leaving child Narendra to the care of grand parents.

( 3 ) ACCORDING to the version of respondent mother prior to and after death of her husband she was continuously subjected to cruel treatment by her in-laws. They objected to her utilising the amount paid by the State Government for her use and for her child. The allegation by the mother against the grand parents is that they forcibly took custody of the child to keep their control over the money in deposit in joint names of the parties and drove away the mother from their house.

( 4 ) ACCORDING to the mother she has been making drastic efforts right from the date she was driven out of the house to regain custody of her child. As a first legal step in that direction she instituted on 3-10-94 proceedings under Section 96, Cr. P. C. in the Court of Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Mahasamund for obtaining a search warrant against the appellants for production of the child and grant of his custody to her. It is submitted on behalf of the mother that it is only to checkmate the above mentioned criminal proceedings, that the grand father approached the Court of Civil Judge, Class I, Mahasamund under the Act on 24-10-94 seeking his appointment as guardian of the minor and for permission to retain his custody.

( 5 ) THE learned Trial Judge by order made on 15-7-96 held that the natural guardian mother is the most suitable person to be entrusted with the custody of the child and, therefore, it dismissed the application for guardianship made by the grand father.

( 6 ) IN this appeal on 24-4-98, on the orders of this Court, the appellants the grand parents of the minor produced the minor Narendra in Court. The respondent mother Suchhibai was also present. ( 7 ) I talked to the grand parents, mother and the child in the Court room

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