Long Pendency No Ground To Avoid Remand Where Core Issues Were Never Decided: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that the long pendency of a civil suit cannot be a reason to avoid remanding the matter when the trial court has failed to decide the core issues on merits.Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani thus dismissed two regular second appeals challenging an order of remand passed by the First Appellate Court in a property dispute between a private party and DDA, that had been pending for over three decades. The High Court upheld the appellate court's decision to remand the suit, noting that the trial court had not adjudicated the substantive issues of title, possession and entitlement to injunction.The appellants had argued that since the suit was instituted more than 30 years ago, the First Appellate Court ought to have decided the matter itself instead of ordering a remand, which would further delay the proceedings.Rejecting this contention, the High Court observed that mere passage of time cannot cure a fundamental defect in adjudication. The Court noted that the trial court had struck off the issues and disposed of the suit without recording findings on the core disputes between the parties, effectively deciding “nothing” on merits.“Therefore, one cannot fault the learned first appellate court in having remanded the matter, even if the matter had been pending for 03 decades or so…the contention raised on behalf of the parties that the learned first appellate court ought to have decided the issues framed in the appellate proceedings itself, instead of remanding the matter back for consideration by the learned trial court, fails to impress this court,” the Court said.It added that the First Appellate Court was justified in exercising its powers under Order XLI Rule 23 (Remand of case by Appellate Court) of CPC.It further clarified that an appellate court is not bound to decide the case on its own when the trial court has completely failed to adjudicate the substantive rights of the parties, and that a proper trial on merits is indispensable even if it results in further delay.Accordingly, both second appeals were dismissed, and the remand order directing the trial court to decide the suit afresh on merits was upheld.Appearance: Mr. Anil K. Khaware with Mr. Yogendra Kumar and Mr. Manoj Ram, Advocates for Appellant; Ms. Chand Chopra, Ms. Anshika Prakash, Advocates for DDACase title: Shri Satya Narain, Since Deceased Through LRs v. Chairman Delhi Development Authority Through Its Chairman & AnrCitation: 2026 LiveLaw (Del) 64Case no.: RSA 42/2021Click here to read order

Long Pendency No Ground To Avoid Remand Where Core Issues Were Never Decided: Delhi High Court

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