Higher Courts Must Avoid Unnecessary Remand Of Cases To Lower Courts : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (December 9) criticised the practice of higher courts remanding matters that had long attained finality, noting that such orders only trigger “unnecessary further litigation” rather than bringing disputes to a finality.

A Bench of Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Manmohan heard the case, where the Allahabad High Court had reopened an issue conclusively settled almost two decades earlier by ordering a remand on the ground of a supposed breach of natural justice, an approach which the Court said ran contrary to the principles of judicial efficiency and finality, stressing that higher courts must aim to resolve disputes rather than send them back into another round of proceedings.

“earlier view by this Court was that in case there were violations of principles of natural justice, the matter was to be remanded for affording an opportunity of hearing to the party concerned. However, with the passage of time, the view changed. The idea is to curtail the litigation and not generate it. Any unnecessary remand by a Higher Court generates a fresh round of litigation, which should be avoided.”, the court said.

In this case, the dispute was over the correction of a revenue map which had attained finality after an appeal was dismissed in 2001. The authorities had already examined the issue twice, both times rejecting the private respondents' attempt to relocate their plot.

The Court found the High Court had misinterpreted Section 30 of the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code, which allows correction only of errors or omissions, not relitigating of the settled claims, objecting to the High Court's decision to remand the case to the Respondent No.4-Additional Collector (Judicial) for alleged violation of the principle of natural justice.

Setting aside the High Court's decision, the judgment authored by Justice Bindal noted that the private respondents were attempting to revive an issue solely to secure a more favourable plot location.

Accordingly, the appeal was allowed. Earlier findings of the revenue authorities were restored, bringing the long-running dispute to an end.

Cause Title: SUVEJ SINGH VERSUS RAM NARESH AND ORS.

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 1187

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