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State of Rajasthan & Ors. v. Shiv Dayal & Anr.

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 900Decided 14 Aug 2019
Civil Appeal No. 7363 of 2000
Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre · Justice R. Subhash Reddy

Background

This order sends the case back; it does not decide it. A mining lessee obtained a permanent injunction against the State of Rajasthan on the footing that the land was outside a protected forest. Two courts upheld it, and the High Court dismissed the State's second appeals as raising no substantial question of law.

Decision Breakdown

This is not a final decision on the dispute. The Court held that the High Court was wrong to dismiss the second appeals without framing and answering substantial questions of law, such as whether the land is forest or revenue land. It set aside the order and sent the appeals back for decision on merits, expressing no opinion on the merits.

Lesson Learnt

A second appeal raising real questions of law cannot be dismissed without framing and answering them.

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

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