Smt. Yasmeen Zia Vs Smt. Haneefa Khursheed And 2 Others (Allahabad High Court)
Allahabad High Court has ruled that an appeal filed against an order of remand by an appellate court does not become purposeless or unsustainable merely because the trial court has subsequently acted upon the remand and passed a consequential order. This significant decision clarifies the scope and persistence of the right to appeal an order of remand under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC).
The case came before the High Court in an appeal challenging an order dated May 8, 2023, passed in Civil Appeal No. 22 of 2022. This order had arisen from a judgment and decree dated March 31, 2022, in Original Suit No. 649 of 2016. In the initial proceedings, the trial court had disposed of the suit on a preliminary point. However, the first appellate court reversed this decision and, through its order dated May 8, 2023, remanded the case back to the trial judge for further proceedings, specifically directing the disposal of ‘Issue no. 9’.
During the High Court’s hearing, counsel for the respondents raised a preliminary objection, arguing that the appeal against the remand order was now without purpose. They pointed out that the trial court had already carried out the remand order and had passed a subsequent order on August 18, 2023, disposing of ‘Issue no. 9’ as directed. The respondents contended that the appellant’s proper course of action would be to file an appeal against this later order of the trial court, and that reversing the earlier remand order would be an exercise in futility, as the subsequent un-appealed order would remain in force.
