The Supreme Court of India has clarified that the failure of an appellate court to frame specific points for determination under Order 41 Rule 31 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC), 1908 does not render its judgment void, especially when the appellant has not raised any specific legal or factual issue for consideration.

In the case titled Nafees Ahmad & Anr. versus Soinuddin & Ors., the Court set aside a decision of the Allahabad High Court which had previously remanded the matter back to the First Appellate Court. The High Court had found fault with the Appellate Court's judgment for not framing points of determination under Order 41 Rule 31 CPC.

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Quoting its earlier ruling in G. Amalorpavam v. R.C. Diocese of Madurai, the Supreme Court said:

“Non-compliance with the provisions, by itself, may not vitiate the judgment and make it wholly void and may be ignored if there has been a substantial compliance with it.”

The Court emphasized that an appellate court can decide an appeal even without referring to prior proceedings if the appellant does not present specific grounds or arguments against the lower court's judgment.

Referring to Thakur Sukhpal Singh v. Thakur Kalyan Singh and Anr., the Court reiterated:

“It is the duty of the appellant to show that the judgment under appeal is erroneous for certain reasons... only then the appellate court would call upon the respondent to reply to the contention.”

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The bench, consisting of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan, concluded that the provisions of Rule 31 should be interpreted reasonably. These requirements apply only when the appellant actually raises points needing determination. Otherwise, the appellate court is not bound to mention them in its judgment.

The Court also discussed Order 41 Rule 30 CPC, which states that the appellate court may refer to any part of the proceedings but is not obliged to do so if no relevant arguments are made.

“If the appellant submits nothing for its consideration, the appellate court can decide the appeal without any reference to any proceedings of the courts below,” the Court noted.

Accordingly, the Supreme Court allowed the appeal and set aside the Allahabad High Court's order, restoring the judgment passed by the First Appellate Court.

Case Title: NAFEES AHMAD & ANR. VERSUS SOINUDDIN & ORS.