ORDER

R.V. Raveendran, J.

1. Leave granted. Heard.

2. The Appellant, for whose benefit certain lands (including the land of Respondents) at village Daulatpur, District Kanpur were acquired, filed an appeal before the Allahabad High Court challenging the judgment of the Reference Court which increased the compensation for the acquired land of Respondents from Rs. 10,250/- per bigha to Rs. 1,10,250/- per bigha. The said appeal has been dismissed summarily by a division bench of the Allahabad High Court, by the impugned non-speaking order dated 20.12.2005 upholding the award of Rs. 1,10,250/- per bigha as compensation. The High Court has stated that it was doing so, in exercise of the power under Order 41 Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure ('Code' for short). The said order is challenged in this appeal by special leave.

3. The appeal in question was filed under Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short 'LA Act') which provides that an appeal shall lie in any proceedings under that Act, to the High Court from the award of the Reference Court, subject to the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, applicable to appeals from original decrees. An appeal is a proceeding where a higher forum reconsiders the decision of a lower forum, on questions of fact and/or questions of law, with power to confirm, reverse, modify the decision or remand the matter to the lower forum for fresh decision. In Hari Shanker v. Rao Girdhari Lal Chowdhury AIR 1963 SC 698, this Court held:

...A right of appeal carries with it a right of rehearing on law as well as fact, unless the statute conferring the right of appeal limits the rehearing in some way as, we find, has been done is second appeals arising under the Code of Civil Procedure.

4. Section 96 of the Code provides that save where otherwise expressly provided in the body of the Code or by any other law for the time being in force, an appeal shall lie from every decree passed by any court exercising original jurisdiction to the court authorized to hear appeals from the decisions of such court. Order 41 of the Code regulates appeals from original decrees. Rule 11 of Order 41 relates to power to dismiss appeals without sending notice to lower court and sub-rules (1) and (4) thereof, relevant for our purpose, are extracted below:

11. Power to dismiss appeal without sending notice to Lower Court.-

(1) The Appellate Court after fixing a day for hearing the Appellant or his pleader and hearing him accordingly if he appears on that day, may dismiss the appeal.

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(4) Where an Appellate Court, not being the High Court, dismisses an appeal under Sub-rule (1), it shall deliver a judgment, recording in brief its grounds for doing so, and a decree shall be drawn up in accordance with the judgment.

5. It is evident from Sub-rule (1) that an appellate court can dismiss an appeal after a preliminary hearing without calling for the records of the trial court and without issuing notice to the Respondent, if it is satisfied that the appeal has no merit. Sub-rule (1) does not however state that such dismissal can be without assigning any reasons.

6. Sub-rule (4) provides that where the appellate court, not being the High Court, dismisses an appeal under sub-rule (1), it shall deliver a judgment recording in brief, its grounds for doing so. Sub-rule (4) by implication therefore provides that if the appellate court is the High Court, and it chooses to dismiss a first appeal at the stage of preliminary hearing, without issuing notice to the Respondent and without calling for records, it need not deliver a formal brief judgment as is required by other appellate fora. A 'judgment', even a brief one, which is required to be rendered by appellate courts other than High Courts, should necessarily refer to the pleadings, nature of relief, the points for consideration and the decision thereon. But Sub-rule (4) does not say that if the appellate court which dismisses the appeal is the High Court, no reasons be assigned f