Court to pronounce judgment on all issues
Full Text
(1) Notwithstanding that a case may be disposed of on a preliminary issue, the Court shall, subject to the provisions of sub-rule (2), pronounce judgment on all issues.
(2) Where issues both of law and of fact arise in the same suit, and the Court is of opinion that the case or any part thereof may be disposed of on an issue of law only, it may try that issue first if the issue relates to—
(a) the jurisdiction of the Court, or
(b) a bar to the suit created by any law for the time being in force,
and for that purpose may, if it thinks fit, postpone the settlement of the other issues until after that issue has been determined, and may deal with the suit in accordance with the decision on that issue.
Plain English Summary
Mandates that courts must pronounce judgment on all issues to avoid piecemeal remands, permitting preliminary trial strictly for pure issues of law relating to (a) court jurisdiction or (b) a statutory bar to the suit, precluding mixed questions of fact and law.
Key Legal Elements
- General Rule (Sub-rule 1): Mandatory duty to decide all issues together in one composite judgment.
- Narrow Exception (Sub-rule 2): Restricted exclusively to pure issues of law requiring no evidence.
- Two Permissible Categories of Preliminary Issues: (a) Territorial/Pecuniary/Subject-matter Jurisdiction; (b) Statutory bar (e.g. Limitation, Res Judicata, Sec. 69 Partnership Act, Sec. 34 SARFAESI, Sec. 80 CPC notice).
- Bar on Mixed Questions: If limitation or jurisdiction requires evidence, it CANNOT be tried as a preliminary issue (Nusli Wadia, Sathyanath).
Practical Note
The Master Authority on Preliminary Issues (Order XIV Rule 2): 1. Supreme Court 3-Judge Bench Landmark - Nusli Neville Wadia v. Ivory Properties (2020) 6 SCC 557: - An issue of limitation or jurisdiction can be decided as a preliminary issue under Order XIV Rule 2(2) ONLY IF it can be disposed of on pure questions of law without adducing evidence. - If the determination requires leading oral evidence or examining contested facts, the court has NO jurisdiction to isolate it as a preliminary issue. It MUST be tried along with all other issues at the final trial! 2. Supreme Court Landmark in Sathyanath v. Sarojamani (2022) 7 SCC 344: Reiterated that piecemeal adjudication leads to endless rounds of appeals and remands. Sub-rule (1) is the statutory mandate; sub-rule (2) is a rare exception. 3. Application Header: 'Application on behalf of Defendant under Order XIV Rule 2(2) read with Section 151 CPC for Treating Issue No. 1 (Bar of Jurisdiction / Statutory Bar) as a Preliminary Issue'.
हिंदी पाठ
(1) इस बात के होते हुए भी कि किसी मामले का निपटारा किसी प्रारंभिक विवाद्यक (Preliminary Issue) पर किया जा सकता है, न्यायालय उपनियम (2) के उपबंधों के अधीन रहते हुए, सभी विवाद्यकों पर निर्णय सुनाएगा (Shall pronounce judgment on all issues)।
(2) जहां एक ही वाद में विधि और तथ्य दोनों के विवाद्यक उत्पन्न होते हैं, और न्यायालय की यह राय है कि मामले का या उसके किसी भाग का निपटारा केवल विधि के विवाद्यक (Issue of Law only) पर किया जा सकता है, वहां वह उस विवाद्यक का विचारण पहले कर सकेगा यदि वह विवाद्यक निम्नलिखित से संबंधित है—
(क) न्यायालय की अधिकारिता (Jurisdiction of the Court), अथवा
(ख) तत्समय प्रवृत्त किसी विधि द्वारा वाद के लिए सृजित कोई वर्जन (Bar to the suit created by any law),
और उस प्रयोजन के लिए, यदि वह ठीक समझे, अन्य विवाद्यकों के स्थिर किए जाने को उस विवाद्यक के अवधारित किए जाने के पश्चात तक के लिए स्थगित कर सकेगा और उस विवाद्यक पर निर्णय के अनुसार वाद का निपटारा कर सकेगा।