Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 – Or. XLI, r.31 – Appellants filed a suit against the respondents for specific performance of agreement – Trial Court decreed the suit – Single Judge, High Court set aside the judgment/decree of the trial Court – Aggrieved, appellant filed Letters Patent Appeal before the Division Bench, which dismissed the appeal – Propriety of – Held: Not proper – Case remanded to the Division Bench of the High Court for deciding the LPA afresh on merits in accordance with law – The reason is that the Division Bench dismissed the appeal filed by the appellants(plaintiffs) cursorily without dealing with any of the issues arising in the case as also the arguments urged by the parties in support of their case – In the absence of any application of judicial mind to the factual and legal controversy involved in the appeal and further without even mentioning the factual narration of the case set up by the parties, the findings of the two Courts as to how they dealt with the issues arising in the case in their respective jurisdiction and without there being any discussion, appreciation, reasoning and categorical findings on the issues and why the findings of two Courts below deserve to be upheld or reversed, while dealing with the arguments of the parties in the light of legal principles applicable to the case, it is difficult to sustain such order of the Division Bench – Disposal of LPA by the Division Bench of the High Court not in conformity with the requirements of Or. XLI, r.31 CPC.
Judgments/Orders – Reasoned order – Emphasis on Courts to pass reasoned order in every case.
Allowing the appeal, the Court
HELD: 1. The need to remand the case to the High Court has occasioned for the reason that the Division Bench dismissed the appeal filed by the appellants (plaintiffs) cursorily without dealing with any of the issues arising in the case as also the arguments urged by the parties in support of their case. [Para 12] [551-F]
2. Indeed, in the absence of any application of judicial mind to the factual and legal controversy involved in the appeal and further without even mentioning the factual narration of the case set up by the parties, the findings of the two Courts as to how they dealt with the issues arising in the case in their respective jurisdiction and without there being any discussion, appreciation, reasoning and categorical findings on the issues and why the findings of two Courts below deserve to be upheld or reversed, while dealing with the arguments of the parties in the light of legal principles applicable to the case, it is difficult for this Court to sustain such order of the Division Bench. The disposal of the LPA by the Division Bench of the High Court cannot be said to be in conformity with the requirements of Order 41 Rule 31 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. [Para 13] [551-G-H; 552-A]
3. Time and again, Supreme Court has emphasized on the Courts the need to pass reasoned order in every case which must contain the narration of the bare facts of the case of the parties to the lis, the issues arising the case, the submissions urged by the parties, the legal principles applicable to the issues involved and the reasons in support of the findings on all the issues in support of its conclusion. It is really unfortunate that the Division Bench failed to keep in mind this principle while disposing of the appeal and passed a cryptic and unreasoned order. Such order undoubtedly caused prejudice to the parties because it deprived them to know the reasons as to why one party has won and other has lost. [Para 14] [552-B-D]
4. The case remanded to the Division Bench of the High Court for deciding the appeal afresh on merits in accordance with law. [Para 15] [552-D-E]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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