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2025 Supreme(UK) 58

IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL 
SHARAD KUMAR SHARMA, J.
Prem Chandra Singhal - Appellant 
Versus 
State of Uttarakhand and Others - Respondents
Second Appeal No. 53 of 2015 
Decided On : 21-08-2019
Advocates Appeared :
For the Appellant : Mr. Puran Singh Rawat
For the Respondent :  Mr. I.P. Kohli

Second Appellate Courts cannot substitute findings or decide based on unframed issues; procedural adherence is crucial for judicial fairness.

Headnote:(A) Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 - Sections 9, 96, and 100 - U.P. Road Side Land Control Act - Second Appeal regarding injunction over property - Court held that Second Appellate Court cannot substitute findings beyond those recorded by Trial Court or Appellate Court - Importance of framing issues by lower courts emphasized - Procedural shortcomings in appeals lead to remand for fresh consideration. (Paras 1, 12, 19)

(B) Appellate Jurisdiction - Second Appellate Court must operate within bounds of issues framed and evidence presented in lower courts - Ignoring procedural requirements amounts to judicial overreach and can render decisions perverse. (Paras 18, 19)

Facts of the case:
This appeal arises from a legal battle regarding a suit for mandatory injunction concerning a property claimed by the appellant since 1977, which was subject to construction by the respondents. The suit was decreed in 1981 but was overturned in 1995, leading to further appeals and procedural delays affecting resolution.

Findings of Court:
The Second Appellate Court found that the First Appellate Court had failed to correctly formulate points of determination leading to procedural errors in deciding the appeals.

Issues: The main issues involved whether the applicability of the U.P. Road Side Land Control Act was adequately considered and whether the lower courts failed to frame necessary issues.

Ratio Decidendi: The Court reiterated that procedural adherence is crucial for fair adjudication, particularly in ensuring issues are framed for consideration to provide parties the opportunity to present their cases. It emphasized that the findings can only be based on evidence and pleadings explicitly raised before the courts.

Result: The Second Appeal is allowed, setting aside the impugned judgment and remanding the case back to the First Appellate Court for fresh determination.

Table of Content
1. second appellate courts cannot exceed lower courts' findings. (Para 1)
2. plaintiff claims property based on 1977 sale deed. (Para 2 , 3 , 4)
3. defendants contest plaintiff's ownership, citing state laws. (Para 5 , 6 , 7 , 8)
4. initial appellate court failed to determine crucial legal points. (Para 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14)
5. case remanded for proper issue determination in line with law. (Para 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20)

JUDGMENT :

Sharad Kumar Sharma, J.

1. There are certain circumstances, under which, the Court at times is also cornered from taking any particular specific view while adjudicating a lis between the parties and that difficulty is, particularly, faced by the Courts, while exercising its superior power of Appeal, as vested in it under Section 100 of the C.P.C., particularly, when the issue, which otherwise ought to have been a subject matter of determination of the controversy under Section 9 or 96 of Code of Civil Procedure is either not considered by the Trial Court or the Appellate Court, then, while exercising the powers under Section 96 of the C.P.C., in such cases, the Second Appellate Court is constraint that the Second Appellate Court could not have substituted the finding beyond the finding, which has been recorded by the Trial Court or the Appellate Court, while adjudicating a lis, as it is settled law that the Second Appellate Court cannot travel beyond the case as pleaded and argued before the Courts below and, which has been taken into consideration while deciding the case.

2. This is one of those peculiar case, dealing with the peculiar circumstance, which has chanced in the present Second Appeal. Though, this Court despite of being conscious of the fact that the suit itself, which has been instituted by the plaintiff/appellant, herein, being Suit of 1979 was registered as Suit No. 61 of 1979, Prem Chandra Singhal Vs. State of U.P. and others , which was instituted as back as on 10 March, 1979, wherein, the plaintiff/appellant has sought a relief in the nature of a decree of mandatory injunction as against the defendants/respondent, herein, to the effect that by the decree to be rendered by the Court, they may be evicted from the property, in question, and after the removal of the construction, which has been raised by the defendant/respondents, over the dispute land, they may also be directed to hand over with the vacant possession of property, which as per the plaint averments is shown to be detailed in appendix-2, in the description of the property as given in the plaint, which the plaintiff/appellant claims to have acquired his rights over it, in pursuance to the sale deed dated 8th March, 1977, executed and registered in his favour, wherein, he contends that he has purchased a piece of land, lying in khasra No. 71/3, having an area of 3350 square yard, i.e. equivalent to about 0.69 acres situated in village Rishikesh, Pargana Parwadoon, Dehradun. The boundaries of the property in dispute for which the relief was sought by way of a suit for mandatory injunction was described at the foot of the plaint, which is quoted hereunder :-

^^Hkwfe/kjh dh Hkwfe dk ,d VqdMk] Hkwfe [k.M [kljk uEcj 71@3 feutqeyk] 3350 oxZxt vFkkZr 0-69 ,dM fLFkr xzke _f"kds'k] ijxuk] ijoknwu] ftyk nsgjknwu ftdld pkSgnh fuEu izdkj gS &

iwoZ & vU; Hkwfe [kUM fodzsrkx.k loZJh Loa;cj nRr] lR; izlkn og gjh izlknA

if'pe & _f"kds'k eqfu dh jsrh dh lMdA

mRrj & pUnz Hkkxk unhA

nf{k.k & lMd vkeA**

3. It was the case of the plaintiff/appellant in the suit, that it was the property, which was falling to be within the area of the property, which was purchased by him by the sale deed dated 8th March, 1977, under the strength of which, he contends that the sale deed, which was executed in his favour on 08.03.1977, it was based on the agreement for sale, which was executed by the predecessors/owners in favour of the plaintiff/appellant on 4th March, 1977, and as a consequence of the execution of the sale deed, he was placed in pos

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