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Pankajakshi (Dead) Through L.Rs. & Others v. Chandrika & Others

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 201 of 2005)Decided 25 Feb 2016
Civil Appeal No. 201 of 2005
Justice Anil R. Dave · Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Shiva Kirti Singh · Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

This judgment answers a question of law; it does not decide the case itself. Two civil appeals were placed before a five-judge Bench on two referred questions, first by a Division Bench in 2010 and then by a three-judge Bench in 2014. The issue was which provision governs the procedure when two Judges of the Kerala High Court disagree in a civil appeal: Section 98(2) of the Code of Civil Procedure, or Section 23 of the Travancore-Cochin High Court Act, preserved by Section 9 of the Kerala High Court Act, 1958.

Decision Breakdown

This is not a final judgment in the case itself. The Court answered the first question by holding that Section 23 of the Travancore-Cochin High Court Act survives and applies, and overruled the earlier view in P.V. Hemalatha. It found it unnecessary to answer the second question and disposed of the reference accordingly. The merits of the appeals were not decided and remain for a regular Bench applying this answer.

Lesson Learnt

There is no final ruling yet on the underlying dispute between the parties. In the Kerala High Court, when two judges hearing a civil appeal disagree, Section 23 of the Travancore-Cochin High Court Act applies, not Section 98(2) of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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