G. Shashikala (Died) Through Lrs. vs G. Kalawati Bai(Died) Through Lr
- Neutral2019 INSC 539
- AIRAIR 2019 SC 2631
Ratio decidendi
The rule this decision rests on
An application under Order 41 Rule 27 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 for admission of additional evidence in an appeal must be decided by the Appellate Court as an integral part of deciding the appeals themselves and not separately from the hearing of the main appeals; the court cannot admit additional evidence by order on such an application and thereafter proceed to decide the appeals without properly considering the impact and implications of the admitted evidence in the context of the substantive decision on the appeal, and the proper course is to defer the final determination of whether to admit the additional evidence and to consider that question together with the merits of the appeal itself in accordance with the law laid down in North Eastern Railway Administration v. Bhagwan Das, Shalimar Chemical Works Limited v. Surendra Oil & Dal Mills and Corporation of Madras v. M. Parthasarathy.
Written by Miss Lucy from the judgment below, not taken from a headnote.
Judgment
As delivered
CIVIL APPEAL Nos.39693970 OF 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) Nos.3091130912 of 2018)
G. Shashikala (Died) Through L.Rs. ….Appellant(s)
VERSUS
G. Kalawati Bai(Died) Through L.R. & Ors. ….Respondent(s)
JUDGMENT
Abhay Manohar Sapre, J.
1. Leave granted.
2. These appeals are filed against a common Signature Not Verified Digitally signed by ASHOK RAJ SINGH Date: 2019.04.16 judgment and order dated 26.09.2018 passed by 16:51:39 IST Reason:
the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad for the
1 State of Telangana and the State of Andhra Pradesh
in CCCA No.40 of 2002 and TRCCA No.168 of 2003
whereby the High Court dismissed both the appeals
filed by the appellants herein.
3. A few facts need mention hereinbelow for the
disposal of these appeals, which involve a short
point.
4. The appellants herein are the legal
representatives of the original defendants and the
respondents are the plaintiffs of the two suits being
O.S. No. 1402 of 1992 and O.S. No.432 of 1993.
5. One suit was for declaration of title and
delivery of possession of a major portion of the suit
house and other was for grant of perpetual
injunction in relation to the suit house.
6. The Trial Court by judgment/decree dated
21.01.2002 decreed the title suit and passed a
decree for possession but dismissed the suit for
grant of perpetual injunction.
2
7. This led to filing of two first appeals in the
High Court of A.P. During pendency of the appeals,
the appellants (defendants) filed an application (IA
No.5/2011) under Order 41 Rule 27 of the Code of
Civil Procedure, 1908 (hereinafter referred to as “the
Code”) and the respondents (plaintiffs) also filed an
application (IA No.428/2011) under Order 41 Rule
27 of the Code.
8. By these two applications, parties prayed
permission from the Appellate Court to file
additional evidence (documents) in support of their
case.
9. By order dated 11.07.2016, the High Court
allowed the application filed by the respondents (IA
No. 428/2011) and also admitted the documents in
evidence and directed that the impact of the
additional evidence admitted in evidence will be
examined while hearing the main appeal. So far as
3 IA No.5/2011 filed by the appellants is concerned,
no order was passed.
10. By impugned order, both the appeals were
dismissed by affirming the judgment/decree of the
Trial Court, which has given rise to filing of the two
appeals in this Court after obtaining the special
leave to appeal.
11. So the short question, which arises for
consideration in these appeals, is whether the High
Court was justified in dismissing the appeals.
12. Having heard the learned counsel for the
parties and on perusal of the record of the case, we
are constrained to allow these appeals and while
setting aside the impugned order, remand the case
to the High Court for hearing the appeals afresh on
merits in accordance with law.
13. In our considered opinion, the need to remand
the case to the High Court has occasioned for the
reason that the High Court committed jurisdictional
4 error while deciding the application filed by the
respondents under Order 41 Rule 27 of the Code
(428/2011) separately.
14. The question as to how the application filed
under Order 41 Rule 27 of the Code in the appeal
should be decided by the Appellate Court remains
no more res integra and stands decided by the three
decisions of this Court in North Eastern Railway
Administration, Gorakhpur vs. Bhagwan
Das(Dead) by L.Rs., (2008) 8 SCC 511(See paras
1317), Shalimar Chemical Works Limited vs.
Surendra Oil & Dal Mills(Refineries) & Ors.,
(2010) 8 SCC 423 (See para 16) and Corporation of
Madras & Anr. vs. M. Parthasarathy & Ors., 2018
(9) SCC 445 (See paras 1115).
15. Unfortunately, the High Court while deciding
the application (428/2011) filed by the respondents
under Order 41 Rule 27 of the Code did not notice
5 the law laid down in the aforementioned three
decisions and proceeded to decide the
application/appeals and thus committed a
jurisdictional error.
16. In view of the foregoing discussion, we are
unable to concur with the approach, reasoning and
the conclusion arrived at by the High Court in the
impugned order calling for interference by this
Court.
17. The appeals, therefore, deserve to be allowed
and are accordingly allowed. The interim order
dated 11.07.2016 by which the application under
Order 41 Rule 27 of the Code was allowed and the
final order impugned herein are set aside.
18. The case is remanded to the High Court for
deciding the two first appeals, out of which these
appeals arise, afresh including the two applications
filed by the parties to the appeals under Order 41
Rule 27 of the Code on their respective merits
6 keeping in view the law laid down in the above
mentioned three decisions insofar as it deals with
disposal of the application of Order 41 Rule 27 of
the Code and decide the appeals on merits in
accordance with law uninfluenced by any
observations made in the impugned order and in
this order.
.………...................................J. [ABHAY MANOHAR SAPRE]
…...……..................................J. [DINESH MAHESHWARI]
New Delhi;
April 16, 2019
7
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