The High Court's jurisdiction in second appeals under Section 100 CPC is confined to substantial questions of law; it should not reassess factual findings.

JUDGMENT :

K. MURALI SHANKAR, J.

1. The Second Appeal is directed against the judgment and decree made in A.S.No.14 of 2020 dated 04.01.2021 on the file of the Subordinate Court, Ramanathapuram, reversing the judgment and decree passed in O.S.No.33 of 2013 dated 28.06.2019 on the file of the District Munsif cum Judicial Magistrate, Thiruvadanai.

2. The appellant is the defendant (hereinafter referred as 'defendant'). The respondent / plaintiff (hereinafter referred as 'plaintiff') filed a suit in O.S.No.33 of 2013 for eviction of the defendant and claiming arrears of rent and damages for the use and occupation of the suit property.

3. The defendant filed his written statement and contested the suit. The learned District Munsif cum Judicial Magistrate, Thiruvadanai, after framing necessary issues and after full trial, passed a judgment and decree dated 28.06.2019 dismissing the suit. Aggrieved by the dismissal of the suit, the plaintiff preferred an appeal in A.S.No.14 of 2020 and the learned Subordinate Judge, Ramanathapuram, upon considering the materials available on record and on hearing the arguments of both the sides, passed the impugned judgment and decree dated 04.01.2021 allowing the appeal and thereby setting aside the judgment and decree of the trial Court and granted the reliefs of recovery of possession, arrears of rent and directed for ascertainment of future mesne profits under Order 20 Rule 12 C.P.C. Challenging the impugned judgment and decree of the first appellate Court, the defendant has filed the present Second Appeal.

4. At the outset, it is necessary to refer the mandate of Hon'ble Supreme Court for High Courts in deciding the second appeal under Section 100 of the CIVIL PROCEDURE CODE , given in the case of Gurnam Singh (Dead) by LRs. and others Vs. Lehna Singh (Dead) by LRs. AIR 2019 SC 1441 , that the jurisdiction of the High Court in an appeal under Section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure is strictly confined to the case involving substantial question of law and the relevant passage is extracted hereunder:

“18. Before parting with the present judgment, we remind the High Courts that the jurisdiction of the High Court, in an appeal under Section 100 of the CPC, is strictly confined to the case involving substantial question of law and while deciding the second appeal under Section 100 of the CPC, it is not permissible for the High Court to re-appreciate the evidence on record and interfere with the findings recorded by the Courts below and/or the First Appellate Court and if the First Appellate Court has exercised its discretion in a judicial manner, its decision cannot be recorded as suffering from an error either of law or of procedure requiring interference in Second Appeal. We have noticed and even as repeatedly observed by this Court and even in the case of Narayanan Rajendran v. Lekshmy Sarojini, (2009) 5 SCC 264, despite the catena of decisions of this Court and even the mandate under Section 100 of the CPC, the High Courts under Section 100 CPC are disturbing the concurrent findings of facts and/or even the findings recorded by the First Appellate Court, either without formulating the substantial question of law or on framing erroneous substantial question of law.”

5. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Chandrabhan Vs. Saraswati and others , 2022 SCC OnLine SC 1273 has specifically held that right of appeal is not automatic and right of appeal is conferred by statute and when statute confers a limited right of appeal restricted only to cases which involve substantial questions of law, it is not open to the High Court to sit in appeal over the factual findings arrived at by the First Appellate Court and the Hon'ble Supreme Co