First Appellate Court Should Comply With Requirements Of Order XLI Rule 31 CPC Even While Affirming Trial Court Judgment: SC [Read Judgment]

The Supreme Court has observed a judgment of a First Appellate Court has to set out points for determination, record the decision thereon and give its own reasons.

Even when the first appellate court affirms the judgment of the trial court, it is required to comply with the requirement of Order XLI Rule 31 of the Code of Civil Procedure and non-observance of this requirement leads to infirmity in the judgment of the first appellate court, the bench comprising Justices S.Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna said.

The bench observed thus while allowing an appeal against a High Court judgment which dismissed a first appeal by a cryptic order.

Order XLI Rule 31 CPC

Order XLI Rule 31 of the CPC provides the guidelines for the appellate court to decide the matter. It reads as follows:

"The judgment of the Appellate Court shall be in writing and shall state— (a) the points for determination; (b) the decision thereon; (c) the reasons for the decision; and (d) where the decree appealed from is reversed or varied, the relief to which the appellant is entitled; and shall at the time it is pronounced be signed and dated by the Judge or by the Judges concurring therein"

The bench, said that when the appellate court agrees with the views of the trial court on evidence, it need not restate effect of evidence or reiterate reasons given by trial court. Expression of a general agreement with the reasons given by the trial court would ordinarily suffice, it added.

The bench also made the following observations on the appeal proceedings.

Section 96 of the CPC provides for filing of an appeal from the decree passed by any court exercising original jurisdiction to the court authorized to hear the appeals from the decisions of such courts. In the instant case, the appeal from the decree passed by the trial court lies to the High Court. The expression 'appeal' has not been defined in the CPC. Black's Law Dictionary (7th Edn.) defines an appeal as "a proceeding undertaken to have a decision reconsidered by bringing it to a higher authority." It is a judicial examination of the decision by a higher court of the decision of a subordinate court to rectify any possible error in the order under appeal. The law provides the remedy of an appeal because of the recognition that those manning the judicial tiers too commit errors.

It is a settled position of law that an appeal is a continuation of the proceedings of the original court. Ordinarily, the appellate jurisdiction involves a re-hearing on law as well as on fact and is invoked by an aggrieved person. The first appeal is a valuable right of the appellant and therein all questions of fact and law decided by the trial court are open for re-consideration. Therefore, the first appellate court is required to address itself to all the issues and decide the case by giving reasons. The court of first appeal must record its findings only after dealing with all issues of law as well as fact and with the evidence, oral as well as documentary, led by the parties. The judgment of the first appellate court must display conscious application of mind and record findings supported by reasons on all issues and contentions

A first appeal under Section 96 of the CPC is entirely different from a second appeal under Section 100. Section 100 expressly bars second appeal unless a question of law is involved in a case and the question of law so involved is substantial in nature 

Case name: MALLURU MALLAPPA(D) vs. KURUVATHAPPA 
Case no.: CIVIL APPEAL NO. 1485 OF 2020
Coram: Justices S.Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna
Counsel:  Advocate S.N. Bhat

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