The appeal in question pertains to the dismissal of a case on the grounds of the appellant not enclosing a copy of the final decree/judgment while appealing to the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi. To assess this matter, we have considered relevant legal maxims, provisions from the Indian law, and Delhi High Court filing rules, along with pertinent judgments.
1. Legal Framework and Analysis:
The primary question is whether the appeal filed by the judgment debtor is valid without the inclusion of a copy of the final decree/judgment from the trial court. The relevant provisions of Indian law and Delhi High Court rules will guide our analysis.
A. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC):
Under Section 107 read with Order 41 of the CPC, an appeal to a superior court requires the appellant to submit a precise ground of objection to the judgment or decree appealed against.
Order XLI Rule 1 of the CPC states that every appeal shall be preferred in the form of a memorandum signed by the appellant or his pleader and presented to the court or to such officer as it appoints in this behalf. The memorandum shall set forth, concisely and under distinct heads, the grounds of objection to the decree appealed from without any argument or narrative; and such grounds shall be numbered consecutively. The format implies the necessity of having a copy of the judgment/decree as a part of the appeal to clearly articulate the grounds of objection.
B. Delhi High Court Rules:
The Delhi High Court rules also provide the norms regarding the requirements for filing an appeal. As per the Delhi High Court Rules, (Part B General Procedure Of Appellate Courts) every memorandum of appeal shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the decree appealed from and the judgment on which it is founded. Thus, the rules explicitly necessitate the inclusion of a copy of the judgment/decree with the appeal unless the same is dispensed with by the appellate court. The relevant portions are quoted below:
“Part B
GENERAL PROCEDURE OF APPELLATE COURTS
(a) Copies to accompany the Memorandum of Appeal
1. First Appeals, Second Appeals, Judgment Disposal of some issue. Duty of copying agency—Order XLI, Rule 1, of the Code of Civil Procedure provides that the memorandum of appeal shall be accompanied by a copy of the decree appealed against and (unless the Appellate Court dispenses therewith) of the judgment on which it is founded. A Proviso has been added to this rule in Punjab making it possible that where two or more cases are tried together and disposed off by one judgment the appellant(s) may with the permission of the proper authority file only one copy of the judgment—though he/they may have filed more than one appeal. Second proviso has been added and it provides that the Court may permit the appeal to be filed with true copies duly authenticated by an advocate as correct.
1(It has further been added that the appellant in case of decree for payment of money shall as per the instructions of the Appellate Court deposit the amount dispute in the appeal or furnish such security as the Court may think fit).
In Second appeals in addition to be copies specified in Order XLI, Rule 1, the memorandum of appeal shall be accompanied by a copy of the judgment of the Court of first instance, unless the Appellate Court dispenses therewith, vide Rule 2, Order XLII, added by the Punjab High Court.
When some issues are disposed of at first and the rest by the final judgment, it is sufficient to attach a copy of the final judgment to the memorandum of appeal. (For the purposes of the above Rules, see Civil Appeal No. 1481 of 1928).
Whenever an application is made for a copy of a civil judgment for the purpose of applicant should be informed that a copy of the decree is also requisite and he should be supplied with such copy, unless he declines to pay the necessary fees in which case a certificate under the signature of the officer incharge of the Copying Department, should be endorsed on the copy of the judgment supplied to the applicant to the effect that he was duly informed that a copy of the decree was requisite and after being so informed declined to pay fees for the same. Similarly an applicant for a copy of an Appellate judgment for the purposes of a second appeal should be told that a copy of the trial Court‟s judgment is also requisite.
In second appeal in addition to the copies specified in Order XLI, Rule 1, the memorandum of appeal shall be accompanied by a copy of the judgment of the Court of first instance, unless the Appellate Court dispenses therewith. Vide Rule 2, Order XLII, added by the Punjab High Court.
When some issues are disposed of at first and the rest by the final judgment, it is sufficient to attach a copy of the final judgment to the memorandum of appeal, for the purposes of the above Rules. (See Civil Appeal No. 2481 of 1928).
Whenever an application is made for a copy of a civil judgment for the purpose of appeal the applicant should be informed that a copy of the decree is also requisite and he should be supplied with such copy, unless he declines to pay the necessary fees in which case a certificate under the signature of the officer-in-charge of the Copying Department, should be endorsed on the copy of the judgment supplied to the effect that he was duly informed that a copy of the decree was requisite and, after being so informed declined to pay fees for the same. Similarly an applicant for a copy of an Appellate judgment for the purposes of a second appeal should be told that a copy of the trial Court‟s judgment is also requisite.
C. Legal Maxim:
The legal maxim “Expressio unius est exclusio alterius,” meaning “the expression of one thing is the exclusion of the other,” can be invoked here. Since the law expressly requires the inclusion of the judgment or decree, the absence of the same could lead to an invalid appeal.
3. Conclusion:
In view of the discussion above, it is clear that an appeal without a copy of the decree/judgment is not complete. Therefore, the High Court of Delhi has reasonable grounds to dismiss the appeal due to non-compliance with the requirements set out under the Code of Civil Procedure and Delhi High Court rules.
