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Sajja Seshagiri Rao v. N. Purnachandra Rao & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2017 INSC 650Decided 20 Jul 2017
Civil Appeal No. 5165 of 2010
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice R. Banumathi

Background

The dispute arose from a suit for partition of property that had been filed back in 1985. By the time it reached the Supreme Court, the trial court, and two further courts below (an appellate court and the High Court) had all reached the same ("concurrent") factual findings against the appellant. The appellant challenged those concurrent findings in this further appeal.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court, after hearing both sides, held that it saw no reason to interfere with the concurrent findings reached by all three courts below in the long-running partition suit. Finding no merit in the appeal, the Court dismissed it in a brief, non-reportable order.

Lesson Learnt

When three successive courts have all independently reached the same factual conclusion in a civil dispute, the Supreme Court will rarely re-open those "concurrent findings of fact": appellants hoping for a different outcome at the apex court on pure questions of fact already decided the same way below face a very high bar.

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

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