TARUN SHAH Vs. RAMJISINGH BHULLANSINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD Mr. Abhyankar for the appellants. This Letters Patent Appeal seeks to invoke the jurisdiction of a Division Bench of this Court under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent against an order passed by a learned Single Judge in a writ petition invoking his jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution of India. The original proceedings were filed in the Court of Small Causes at Mumbai under the Bombay Rents, Hotels and Lodging House Rates Control Act, 1947 and the order thereunder was challenged in Writ Petition No. 5946 of 1988, reported in (Ramjisingh Bhuliansingh v. Tarun K. Shah) 2002 (6) Bom. C. R. 63, by the respondent herein invoking the jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution of India. Such petitions are assignable to a Single Judge under the Appellate Side Rules and that is how the learned Single Judge heard and decided the matter and passed the order on 12th June, 2002. That order is sought to be challenged by invoking Clause 15 of the Letters Patent in this intra-Court appeal. As far as Clause 15 of the Letters Patent is concerned, it has been well settled by the Apex Court in paragraph 103 of its judgment in the case of (Umaji Keshao Meshram and others v. Smt. Radhikabai and another) reported in A. I. R. 1986 S. C. 1272 as under:-". . . . an intra-Court appeal does not lie against the judgment of a Single Judge of the Bombay High Court given in a petition under Article 227 by reason of such appeal being expressly barred by Clause 15 of the Letters Patent of that High Court.

(2.) MR. Abhyankar, learned Counsel appearing for the appellants, tried to canvass that by the Amendment Act, 1999, the powers under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent were sought to be reduced and again they have been restored by the Amending Act, 2002 amending the Code of Civil Procedure. He drew our attention to the Statement of Objects Amending Act, 2002 where in Clause 3 (k) thereof, it is stated as follows:- (k) appeals to Division Bench of the High Courts in writs under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution shall be restored. Section 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Act, 1999 abolished appeals against judgments of a Single Judge of the High Court in all cases. "

(3.) THEREAFTER, Mr. Abhyankar drew our attention to the new substituted section 100-A, which reads as follows:-100-A. Notwithstanding anything contained in any Letters Patent for any High Court or in any instrument having the force of law or in any other law for the time being in force, where any appeal from an original or appellate decree or order is heard and decided by a Single Judge of a High Court, no further appeal shall lie from the judgment and decree of such Single Judge. "