Appeal - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition appeal

Definition :

Appeal [fr. appellatio, Lat.; appeller, Fr.]. the judicial examination of the decision by a higher Court of the decision of an inferior Court. Thus there is an appeal from the High Court to the Court of Appeal (see (English) Judicature Act, 1925, s. 27), from the Court of Appeal to the House of Lords (see s. 3 of the (English) Appellate Jurisdiction Act, 1876, c. 59), from the Petty Sessions to Quarter Sessions, where the appeal is by way of retrial (see s. 19 of the (English) Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879, also Summary Jurisdiction (Appeals) Act, 1933, and SESSIONS OF THE PEACE), from the County Courts to the Court of Appeal (see s. 105 of the County Courts Act, 1934, and next title), and in criminal matters, to the Court of Criminal Appeal under the (English) Criminal Appeal Act, 1907, or under the (English) Crown Cases Act, 1848 (11 & 12 Vict. c. 78). Appeals to the House of Lords in forma pauperis are checked by the (English) Appeal (Forma Pauperis) Act, 1893 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 22), which gives the House of Lords power to refuse these appeals. See CRIMINAL APPEAL; CROWN CASES RESERVED; NEW TRIAL; PRIZE Court; PRIVY COUNCIL.

An appeal is essentially continuation of the original proceedings and the provisions applied at the time of institution of the suit are to be operative even in respect of the appeals. That is because there is a vested right in the litigant to avail the remedy of an appeal, Shiv Shakti Co-op. Housing Society v. Swaraj Developers, (2003) 6 SCC 659 (668): AIR 2003 SC 2434. (Civil PC, 1908, s. 96 and 100)

An appeal, is one in which the question is, whether the order of the court from which the appeal is brought was right on the material which the court had before it, State of Gujarat v. Salimbhai Abdul Gaffar Shaikh, (2003) 8 SCC 50: AIR 2003 SC 3224.

Means a call to (higher tribunal) for deliverance from decision of lower, Oxford Illustrated Dictionary, p. 54. The transference of a case to higher court for rehearing, Webster Law Dictionary, p. 70.

The right of appeal is only by statute; it is the right of entering a superior court and invoking its aid and interposition to redress the error of the court below, Stroud's Dictionary of Law, Vol. 1, p. 148.

In U.S.A., the Supreme Court has no appellate jurisdiction in ordinary civil cases, its jurisdiction being confined to constitutional matters. The Australian High Court possesses a general appellate jurisdiction, but further appeal lies to the Privy Council. In Canada, the final Court of Appeal is the Supreme Court, Commentary on Constitution of India ' D.D. Basu, 6th Edn., Vol. G., pp. 268-269.

In India, an appeal lies to the Supreme Court from any judgment, decree or final order of a High Court whether in a civil, criminal or other proceeding, but it is allowed only if the High Court certifies that the case involves a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution of India. [Constitution of India Article 132(1) and (2)]

However, the Supreme Court has the discretion to grant special leave to appeal from any judgment, decree, determination, sentence or order in any case or matter passed or made by any court or tribunal in the territory of India except the judgments or orders passed by any court constituted under any law relating to the Armed Forces. [Constitution of India, Article 136].

Means a proceeding undertaken to have a decision reconsidered by bringing it to a higher authority, especially the submission of a lower court's or agency's decision to a higher court for review and possible reversal e.g. the case is on appeal, Black Law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 94.

Appeal is an application by a party to an appellate court asking if to set aside or revise a decision of a subordinate court, Negendra Nath Dey v. Suresh Chandra Dey, AIR 1932 PC 165: 59 IA 283.

Appeal is the removal of a cause or a suit from an inferior to a superior judge or court for re-examination or review, Chappan v. Moidin Kutfi, ILR (1899) 22 Mad 68: 8 MLJ 231.

Appeal is the right of entering the Superior Court and invoking its aid and interposition to redress the error of the court below, Ramchandra Abhyankar v. Krishnaji Dattatreya Bapat, (1969) 2 SCC 74: AIR 1970 SC 1.

Appeal is the removal of a cause from any inferior court or tribunal to a superior one for the purpose of testing the soundness of a decision and proceedings of the inferior court or tribunal and entirely subjecting the facts as well as the law, to a review and a retrial, Tirupati Balaji Developers Ltd. v. State of Bihar, (2004) 5 SCC 1.

Appeal is a remedy by which a cause determined by an inferior forum is subjected before a superior forum for the purpose of testing the correctness of the decision given by the inferior forum. The right of appeal is a substantive and valuable right of any appellant who is normally a person aggrieved by the impugned decision, Bolin Chetia v. Jagdish Bhuyan, (2005) 6 SCC 81.

Appeal is a rehearing, it must follow that if an appellate court dismisses an appeal it would be passing a decree affirming eviction and thereby passes a decree of its own, and in the event it upsets the decree of the trial court, it would be again passing a decree of its own resulting in merger of decree of the trial court with that of the appellate court, Dilip v. Mohd. Azizul Haq, (2000) 3 SCC 607.