Girl’s Claim To Be Deceased Father’s Daughter, Based On Parents’ Marriage, Belongs In Family Court: Sikkim HC Upholds Ruling

The appellant, a minor, sued through her mother, seeking declarations that she was the legal and natural daughter of late Ajai Rai and the granddaughter of Respondent No. 1, and an order directing the Municipal Commissioner to issue her birth certificate.

Her claim was based on the alleged marriage of her mother and late Ajai Rai.

The trial court granted the reliefs, but the first appellate court set aside the decree, holding that the civil court lacked jurisdiction and that the plaint should have been presented to the Family Court.

In the second appeal, the appellant challenged that jurisdictional determination; counsel confirmed that the birth certificate had since been issued.

Section 7(1)(e) of the Family Courts Act, 1984, confers jurisdiction on a Family Court over a suit or proceeding for a declaration as to the legitimacy of any person; Section 8 excludes the jurisdiction of the ordinary civil courts, in an area where a Family Court has been established, over matters within Section 7.

In Renubala Moharana v. Mina Mohanty, the Supreme Court held that legitimacy may be considered by a Family Court where relevant to a guardianship petition, but a declaration concerning a child’s illegitimacy cannot be granted in the circumstances considered there.

The High Court also relied on Bharat Kumar v. Selma Mini, which distinguished paternity from legitimacy and explained that paternity alone is not necessarily within Family Court jurisdiction; the relevant question is whether legitimacy arises from a matrimonial relationship.

The Court treated the appellant’s claim as one based on the alleged matrimonial relationship between her mother and late Ajai Rai, rather than as a standalone dispute about paternity.

Because the declaration sought concerned her status as their child and was grounded in that alleged marriage, the Court held that the suit fell within Section 7(1)(e). Section 8 therefore excluded the ordinary civil court’s jurisdiction, supporting the first appellate court’s decision to set aside the trial court’s decree.

The subsequent issuance of the birth certificate was noted but did not alter the jurisdictional issue.

It upheld the first appellate court’s judgment and rejected the second appeal; any pending applications were also disposed of.