Gurminder Singh v. Amarjit Kaur & Ors.
Background
The appeal arose out of a Second Appeal (SAO No. 51/2010) decided by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and the appellant sought leave to challenge that judgment before the Supreme Court. The Court's recorded order and the Record of Proceedings show the matter was heard briefly, with leave granted and the appeal taken up for final disposal on its own narrow request.
Decision Breakdown
Considering the "very peculiar facts of the case" and in the interest of justice, the Supreme Court modified the impugned High Court judgment specifically to give the appellant an opportunity to lead further evidence before the First Appellate Court by a fixed date (7 December 2015), while clarifying that no further adjournment would be granted for that purpose. The appeal itself was thereby allowed to that limited extent, with no order as to costs: the Court's own order fully and finally disposed of the specific relief sought in this appeal, even though it sends the evidentiary question back to the First Appellate Court.
Lesson Learnt
Even a short, narrowly-worded Supreme Court order can be a complete and final disposal of the specific procedural relief sought (here, one more fair chance to present evidence): it need not resolve the full underlying dispute to count as a final decision on what was actually asked for.