Whether the appellate court should remand a case because the trial court has not properly appreciated the evidence?
A conjoint reading of Rules 23, 23A and 24 of Order XLI brings forth the scope as also contours of the powers of remand that when the available evidence is sufficient to dispose of the matter, the proper course for an Appellate Court is to follow the mandate of Rule 24 of Order XLI Code of Civil Procedure and to determine the suit finally. It is only in such cases where the decree in challenge is reversed in appeal and a re-trial is considered necessary that the Appellate Court shall adopt the course of remanding the case. It remains trite that order of remand is not to be passed in a routine manner because an unwarranted order of remand merely elongates the life of the litigation without serving the cause of justice. An order of remand only on the ground that the points touching the appreciation of evidence were not dealt with by the Trial Court may not be considered proper in a given case because the First Appellate Court itself is possessed of jurisdiction to enter into facts and appreciate the evidence. {Para 25.4.}
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Civil Appeal No. 6076 of 2009
Decided On: 24.04.2020
Shivakumar and Ors. Vs. Sharanabasappa and Ors.
Hon’ble Judges/Coram:
A.M. Khanwilkar, Hemant Gupta and Dinesh Maheshwari, JJ.
Author: Dinesh Maheshwari, J.
Citation: MANU/SC/0395/2020,(2021) 11 SCC 277,2020 SCCONLINE SC 385