M.M. Punchhi and; K. Jayachandra Reddy, JJ.
1. Leave granted.
2. The plaintiff-respondent obtained an order of temporary injunction from the trial court. The appellate court upset it at the instance of the appellant who was a defendant therein. An effort has been made by the plaintiff-respondent to introduce certain documents before the appellate court in order to strengthen his case in support of the order of the trial court. The appellate court declined that prayer and went on to upset the order of the trial court. On being approached by the plaintiff-respondent under Article 227 of the Constitution, the High Court found fault with the appellate court in declining to take into consideration documents sought to be introduced by the plaintiff to support his case. Not only did the High Court take those documents on record but also went on to examine them and form its own view on merits. It turns out to be that the view of the trial court was preferred by the High Court which led to the upsetting of the order of the appellate court. This has given rise to the present appeal.
3. We are of the considered view that the High Court should not have substituted its own opinion on the merits of the case on induction of documents at the instance of the plaintiff-respondent. Having taken those documents on record it ought to have remanded the matter back to the lower appellate court for its opinion, for, its opinion was necessary as the final court of fact. What the High Court should have done then, we are obliged to do now. Therefore, in these circumstances, we allow this appeal, set aside the impugned order of the High Court to the extent that it has disposed of the matter on merits but affirm that part of the order whereby the petition under Article 227 was allowed paving way for a remand to the lower appellate court, keeping inducted the documents as inducted by the High Court on record. The appellate court would now be obliged to rehear the appeal and take into account the additional documents as put in before the High Court and such other documents which the parties may further like to file before the appellate court on the basis of formal applications to be made by the parties before the appellate court. On drawing these parameters, we allow this appeal and put the matter back to the file of the appellate court. Any interim order which had operated before the appellate court shall stand automatically revived.
4. The appellate court is directed to decide the matter expeditiously preferably within four months.
5. There shall be no order as to costs.