Calcutta High Court on Monday set aside the judgment of a Lok Adalat sending a 11-year old-girl to her uncle?s custody instead of her mother, who is fighting a legal battle with her husband.

The high court order gains significance because the Legal Aid Services Authority Act disallows a judgment of a Lok Adalat from being challenged in the high court.

According to the case records, Gayatri Mukherjee married Kanchan Mukherjee, who stayed near her Howrah residence, in 1993. A year later, Swarnali was born to them.

Since then, Gayatri was subjected to regular torture by her husband, an assistant teacher of a primary school in Howrah, and her in-laws. Unable to bear the suffering, Gayatri lodged a complaint with Batra police station in 2003. Accordingly, police started a case against Kanchan.

Gayatri also moved a petition before the West Bengal Women?s Commission, which forwarded the case to the Salt Lake Lok Adalat (controlled by women) for disposal.

Both parties were summoned to the Lok Adalat and the judges decided that Kanchan would have to pay a monthly maintenance of Rs 600 to his wife. The court also ruled that daughter Swarnali would be looked after by her bachelor uncle Chandan Mukherjee.

It ordered Gayatri to withdraw the complaint she had lodged with the police.

Gayatri was stunned by the judgment. On receiving a copy of the order of the Lok Adalat, she consulted her lawyers. However, they said there existed no provision to challenge the order in the high court.

Disappointed, Gayatri approached the State Legal Aid Forum for redress. Advocate Pradip Roy, engaged by the forum, then moved a petition before the high court, saying that the Lok Adalat judgment was ?illegal?. The petition pointed out that no court had the right to award the custody of minor child to any relative, instead of the mother.

Roy also argued that the Lok Adalat had no authority to ask the petitioner (Gayatri) to withdraw the complaint she had lodged with the police. He said: ?The order of the Lok Adalat should be set aside because it is contrary to the provision of Legal Aid Service Authority Act.?

Justice S.K. Mukherjee set aside the judgment of the Lok Adalat and allowed Gayatri to move a fresh petition demanding maintenance for herself and Swarnali. The high court order also said that Swarnali would stay with her mother. The father can meet her at Gayatri?s parents? house, the judge said.

The judgment comes at a time when the state judicial minister, as well as the chief justice, are stressing the need to send long-pending cases in subordinate courts to Lok Adalats for disposal. The lawyers of Calcutta High Court welcomed Monday?s judgment.