' ASIF SAEED KHAN KHOSA, J.---Respondent No, 2 as well as the present petitioner had separately applied before the learned Judge, Family Court, Isa Khel, District Mianwali seeking their appointment as guardian of respondent No,2's minor daughter namely Muqaddas Bibi and through a consolidated judgment dated 2-3-2009 the learned Judge, Family Court dismissed the application filed by the petitioner whereas the application submitted by respondent No,2 was allowed. The petitioner preferred an appeal in that regard and the learned Additional District Judge, Mianwali partly modified the above mentioned judgment passed by the learned Judge, Family'Court and directed that the minor would be kept in Darulaman/Children Home till attaining the age of majority. That judgment passed by the learned Additional District Judge, Mianwali was assailed by the petitioner before the Lahore High Court, Lahore through Writ Petition No,7129 of 2009 but that writ petition was dismissed by a learned Judge-in-Chamber vide order dated 17-4-2009.
Hence, the present petition for leave to appeal before this Court.
2. We have heard the learned' counsel for the petitioner and the learned Additional Advocate- General, Punjab and have gone through the record of this case with their assistance. Despite personal service of a notice of the present petition upon her respondent No, 2 has failed to enter appearance so as to contest the same. It is true that respondent No,2 happens to be the real mother of the minor namely Muqaddas Bibi (presently aged about 12/13 years) but at the same time it is equally true that respondent No,2 is a blind woman and she is a beggar with no fixed abode or any definite source of income. As against that the petitioner had retired from the Pakistan Army and, according to him, he is looking after the minor as his own daughter since her early childhood because he and his three other brothers are issueless and respondent No,2 had herself given the minor in his care because she was a blind woman and a beggar having no definite source of income or fixed abode and she was in no position to bring up the minor properly. The minor in issue, i,e, Muqaddas Bibi has appeared before us in person today and we have found her to be a confident and a well-groomed child. She has stated before us that she is studying in Class VI and has been passing her examinations with distinction. She has gone on to state that the petitioner is bringing her up as his own child and she is quite happy in living with him. The demeanour of the minor depicted before the Court has fully supported her statement. In these circumstances of this case we have found that it would not be in the interests of the said minor to live with her mother who is a blind woman and a beggar with no fixed abode or a definite source of income. We have further found that the minor's continued living in a Darulaman, as directed by the learned Additional District Judge, Mianwali and upheld by the learned Judge-in-Chamber of the Lahore High Court, Lahore, is also not likely to be conducive to her welfare because she needs proper upbringing and education which opportunities may not be available to her while living at a Darulaman. We have also concluded that the petitioner has so far acted like a good de facto guardian of the said minor and we expect him to continue behaving like that in future.
3. For what has been discussed above this petition is converted into an appeal and the same is allowed, the impugned order and judgments of the learned courts below are set aside and the application submitted by the petitioner/appellant before the learned Judge, Family Court, Isa Khel, District Mianwali seeking his appointment as the guardian of Muqaddas Bibi is accepted. It is hereby directed that the petitioner/appellant shall produce the said minor before the learned Judge, Family Court, Isa Khel, District Mianwali on the first working day of every month and on every such occasion the learned Judge, Family Court shall satisfy himself about proper maintenance and upbringing of Muqaddas Bibi by the petitioner/appellant and in case any doubt is entertained by him in that regard then a report in that respect shall be submitted by him before the Registrar of this Court for an appropriate action by this Court in that connection. It is further directed that the petitioner/appellant shall allow the minor's mother, i,e, respondent No, 2 to meet the minor as and when she wishes to do so. This appeal is disposed of in the terms noted above. There shall be no order as to costs.