The single judge bench of the Jharkhand High Court held that remand cannot be made where no issue had been left undecided by the trial Court. To order retrial of a case, is a serious matter and may mean considerable waste of public time. Such an order can be passed only in an exceptional case.
Brief facts
The factual matrix of the case is that the partition suit has been filed by the plaintiff. The plaintiff filed the application for the amendment of plaint earlier and the same was rejected by the trial court. Due to this, the revision was preferred and the same was not decided till the disposal of the case. The judgment passed by the trial court was reversed by the first appellate court and the same was remanded back to the trial court with liberty given to the plaintiff to amend the plaint and defendants to have an opportunity to file a written statement. Hence, the second appeal is filed.
Contentions of the Appellant
The Appellant submitted that the Law mandates that the first appellate court remand the case to the trial court with directions for the plaintiff to amend the plaint, without reversing the findings of the trial court. Although the first appellate court set aside the judgment and decree, it never overturned the trial court's finding.
Observations of the court
The Hon’ble Court observed that it is well-established law that when the trial court had not left any question unresolved, remand could not be granted. A retrial of a case is a severe matter that might result in a significant waste of public time. Only in very rare circumstances may such an order be issued.
The court noted that there is no bar to remand a case after setting aside the judgment and decree by the trial Court.
Based on these considerations, the court set aside the judgment and order of remand passed by the first appellate Court.
The decision of the court
With the above direction, the court disposed of with the direction to the first appellate Court to re-hear and dispose of expeditiously the first appeal on the basis of materials available on records.
Case Title: Ramis Toppo V. Anima Pushpa Toppo
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Gautam Kumar Choudhary
Case No.: Second Appeal No.39 of 1997(R)
Advocates for the Appellant: Mr. Ayush Aditya, Advocate Mr. Indraj, Advocate
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