Holding

A High Court cannot interfere with the findings of fact on a second appeal under Section 100 CPC unless a substantial question of law is expressly formulated, and therefore the High Court’s judgment was set aside.

Summary

The case concerned a dispute over the validity of a will executed by the deceased, Chanan Singh, in favour of his second wife, Bhagwan Kaur, which disinherited the daughters of his first wife. The trial court and the first appellate court upheld the will as a natural document executed by a sound mind. The High Court, on a second appeal under Section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure, set aside those findings, reasoning that a prudent man would not have disinherited his daughters. The Supreme Court examined the scope of Section 100, especially after the 1976 amendment, and held that a second appeal can be entertained only when a substantial question of law is expressly framed. Since no such question was raised, the High Court had no jurisdiction to re‑appreciate the evidence or overturn the factual findings. Consequently, the Supreme Court set aside the High Court judgment, restored the lower courts' findings, and allowed the appeal with costs.

Issues considered

Whether the High Court was justified in interfering with the concurrent findings of fact on a second appeal under Section 100 CPC in the absence of a substantial question of law.
Whether the will executed by the deceased was a valid instrument reflecting his free and sound disposing mind.

Legislation cited

Subjects

Section 100 CPCsecond appealsubstantial question of lawwill validitytestamentary capacityHindu Succession Actinterference with findings of factlegislative intention

Judgment

. i GURDEV KAUR AND ORS. A
11.
KAKI AND ORS.

APRIL 18, 2006

[RUMA PAL AND DAL VEER BHANDARI, JJ.] B

Code of Civil Procedure, J908:
'j
Section JOO (as ii stood after the J976 Amendment)-Second appeal-
Substantial question of law-Scope of interference-Legislative intention c
and ambit-Validity of Will-Dispute regarding-Deceased-testator had two
wives-Firs/ wife died before the deceased and plaintiffi were the daughters
of the deceasedfrom his first wife-Deceased executed a Will bequeathing his
entire property in favour of the defendant-second wife-Defendant got
sanctioned the mutation of inheritance of the deceased on the basis of the D
alleged Will-According to the plaintiffi, the deceased did not execute any
Will out of his free will-The trial court held that the Will was duly executed

" by the deceased infavour of his second wife and was a natural document-
The first appellate court upheld the findings of the trial court-The High
Court, in second appeal, set aside the concurrent findings offacts arrived at
. by the courts below on the ground that, in the normal circumstances, a E
prudent man would have bequeathed the property infavour of his legal heirs
and would not have disinherited the plaintiffs-Correctness of-Held:
Interference in ·second appeal under s, JOO in cases where there is no
substantial question of law is against'1he legislative intention-The High
Courts would have jurisdiction of interfering under Section JOO C.P.C. only
F
in a case where substantial questions of law are involved and those questions
have been clearly formulated in the memorandum of appeal-High Court
bound to formulate substantial question of law before hearing the appeal-
In the instant case, the High Court has not formulated the substantial question
of law before hearing the appeal-The judgment of the High Court is clearly
against the provisions of Section l 00 and in no uncertain terms clearly G

- violates the legislative intention-The Court does not sit in appeal over the
right or wrong of the testator's decision-High Court judgment set aside-
Hindu Succession Act, J956.
27
i H
..
28 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [20061 SUPP. I S.C.R.

A Words & Phrases:

"Substantial question of law"·-Meaning of-In the con/ext of S. 100
of the Code of Civil Procedure, 190/J.

The deceased-testator had two wives. The first wife died before the
B deceased. The respondents-plaintiffs were the daughters of the deceased from
his first wifo. The appellants-defendants were the second wife and daughters
of the deceased. The deceased executed a Will bequeathing his entire property
in favour of his second wife on the basis of which the defendant-wife got the
mutation of inheritance of the deceased sanctioned on the basis of the alleged •
Will. According to the respondents-plaintiffs, the deceased did not execute
c any Will out of his free will. The trial court held that the Will was duly
executed by the deceased in favour of his second wife and was a natural
document. The first appellate court upheld the findings of the trial court.

Being aggrieved, the respondents-plaintiffs preferred a second appeal
under Section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 before the High Court.
D
The High Court set aside the concurrent findings of facts arrived at by the
courts below on the ground that, in the normal circumstances, a prudent man
would have bequeathed the property in favour of his legal heirs am! would not
have disinherited the respondents-plaintiffs. Hence the appeal.

E The following question arose before the Court:-

Whether, according to the true delineated scope of Section 100 of the
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, was the High Court justified in interfering
with the concurrent findings of fact?

F Allowing the appeal, the Court

HELD: 1.1. Indiscriminate and frequent interference under Section 100
of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 in cases which are totally devoid of any
substantial question law is not only against the legislative intention but is
also the main cause of huge pendency of second appeals in the High Courts
G leading to a colossal delay in the administration of justice in civil cases in
our country. (32-EJ

1.2. Despite declaration of law in numerous judgments, it is evident that
the scope and ambit of Section 100 C.P.C. has not been properly appreciated
-
and applied in a large number of cases. A serious endeavour to discern
H legislative intention, ambit and scope of interference under Section I 00 C.P.C ' ,_
GURDEV KAUR v. KAKI 29
,- i
is being made. [32-FI A
2. The primary cause of the accumulation of arrears of second appeal
in the High Court is the laxity with which second appeals are admitted without
serious scrutiny of the provisions of Sectiori 100 C.P.C. It is the bounden
duty of the High Court to entertain second appeal within the ambit and scope
of Section 100 C.P.C.148-B-CI B
3. The question which is often asked that why a litigant should have the
l right of two appeals even on questions of law. The answer to this query is that
~ in every State there are a number of District Courts and courts in the District
cannot be final arbiters on questions of law. If th.e law is to be uniformly
inte~preted and applied, questions of law must bC decide.d by the highest Court c
-·
in the State whose decisions are binding on alfsubordinate courts. (48-C-DI

4. The rationale behind allowing a second appeal on a question of law is
that there ought to be some tribunal having a jurisdiction that will enable it
to maintain, and, where necessary, reestablish, uniformity throughout the
D
., State on important legal issues, so that within the area of the State, the law,
insofar as it is not enacted law, should be laid down, or capable of being laid
down, by one court whose rulings will be binding on all courts, tribunals and
authorities within the area over which it has jurisdiction. This is implicit in
any legal system where the higher courts have authority to make binding
decisions on question of.law. (48-E-FI E
Diety Pattabhiramas\1'.a1ny v. S. Hnaymayya, AIR (1959) SC 57, M.
Ramappa v. M. Bojjappa, (19631SCR673, Sheet Chand v. Prakash Chand,
[1998( 6 SCC 683, Luchman v. Puna (1889) 16 Cal 753 PC, Pratap Chunder
v. Mohandranath, (1890) ILR Cal 291 PC, Durga Chowdharani v. Jawahar
i Singh, (1891) 18 Cal 23 PC, Ramratan Shuku/ v. Mussumat Nandu, (1892) F
19 Cal 249 PC, Ram Gopal v. Shakshaton, (1893) ILR 20 Cal 93 PC and
Rudra Prasadv. Bai) Nath, (1893) ILR 15 All 367, referred to..

5. Now, after the 1976 Amendment to Section 100 C.P.C., the scope of

-
Section 100 has been drastically curtailed and narrowed down. The High
G
Courts would have jurisdiction of interfering under Section 100 C.P.C. only
in a ~ase where substantial questions of law are involved and those questions
have been clearly formulated in the.memorandum of appeal. At the time of
admission of the second appeal, it is the bounden duty and obligation of the
-f High Court to formulate substantial questions of law and then only the high
.....
Court is permitted to proceed with the case to decide those questions of law, H
30 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [20061 SUPP. I S.C.R.

A the language used in the amended Section specifically incorporates the words ._
as "substantial question of law" which is indicative of the legislative intention.
It must be clearly understood that the legislative intention was very clear that
legislature never wanted second appeal to become "third trial on facts" or
"one more dice in the gamble". The effect of the amendment, mainly, according
to the amended Section was:
B
(i) The High Court would be _justified in admitting the second appeal
only when a substantial question of law is involved;

(ii) The substantial question of law to precisely state such question; ,
C (iii) A duty has been cast on the High Court to formulate substantial
question of law before hearing the appeal;

(iv) Another part of the Section is that the appeal shall be heard only on ...
that question. (48-H; 49-A-E]

D Bhularam v. Amirchand (1981) 2 sec 414, Kshitish Chandra Purkait
v. Santosh Kumar Purkait, (1997( 5 SCC 438, Dnyanuba Bhaurau Shemade
v. Maroti Bhaurao Marnor, (199912SCC471, Kanai Lal Garari v. Murari
Ganguly, (1999) 6 SCC 35, Santosh Ha::ari v. Purushuttam Tiwari, (2001( 3
SCC 179, Kamti Devi v. Pushi Ram, (20011 5 SCC 311, Thiagarajan v. Sri
E Venugupalaswamy B. Kail, (2004( 5 SCC 762, Commissioner, Hindu Religious
& Charitable Endowments v. P. Shanmugama, (2005( 9 SCC 232, State of
Kera/av. Mohd. Kunhi, (2005] IO SCC 139, Madhavan Nair v. Bhaskar Pillai,
(2005( IO SCC 553, Harjeet Singh v. Amrik Singh. (2005( 12 SCC and ro
H.P. Pyarejan v. Dasappa, (2006( 2 SCC 496, relied on.

F 6. The fact that, in a series of cases, this Court was compelled to interfere
was because the true legislative intend ment and scope of Section 100 C.P.C.
have neither been appreciated nor applied. A class of judges while
administering law honestly believe that, if they are satisfied that, in any second
appeal brought before them, evidence has been grossly misappreciated either
by the lower appellate court or by both the courts below, it is their duty to

-
G interfere, because they seem to feel that a decree following upon a gross
misappreciation of evidence involves injustice and it is the duty of the High
Court to redress such injustice. It is reiterated that the justice has to be
administered in accordance with law. (49-E-F(

7. When Section I 00 C.P.C. is critically examined then, according to
H
GURDEV KAUR v. KAKl 31

1 the legislative mandate, the interference by the High Court is permissible A
only in cases involving substantial questions of law. (49-G(

8.1. The High Court has clearly deviated from the settled principle of
interpretation of the Will. The Court does not sit in appeal over the right or
wrong of the testator's decision. The Court's role is limited to examining
whether the instrument propounded as the last Will of the deceased is or is B
not that by the testator and whether it is the product of the free and sound
disposing mind. It is only for the purpose of examining the authenticity or

.. 1 otherwise of the instrument propounded as the last Will, that the Court looks
into the nature of the bequest. [50-D-E)

c
8.2. The High Court has not even properly appreciated the context of
the circumstances. The contents of the Will have to be appreciated in the

- context of the circumstances, and not vis-a-vis the rules for intestate
succession. It is only for this limited purpose that the Court examines the
nature of bequest. The Court does not substitute its own opinion for what was
the testator's Will or intention as manifested from a reading of the written D
instrument. After all, a Will is meant to be an expression of his desire and,
~ therefore, may result in disinheritance of some and grant to another. In the
instant case, wife of the testator alone had lived with the deceased and only
she had looked after him throughout his life. The other daughters were all
happily married a long time ago and in their weddings the testator had spent
huge amount of money. In his own words, he had spent more than what they E
would have got in their respective shares out of testator's property. (50-E-G)

8.3. If a Will appears on the face of it to have been duly executed and
..; attested in accordance with the requirements of the Statute, a presumption of
due execution and attestation applies. (50-H; 51-A)
F
~
9. It may be pertinent to mention that in the memorandum of second
appeal filed before the High Court no substantial question of law was
formulated. Similarly, the High Court in its judgment has not formulated the
question of law before hearing the appeal. (51-A-B(

IO. Despite repeated declarations of law by the judgments of this Court
G
----..~
and the Privy Council for over a century, still the scope of Section 100 has
not been correctly appreciated and applied by the High Courts in a large

-
number of cases. In the facts and circumstances of this case the High Court
interfered with the pure findings of fact even after the amendment of Section
i
100 C.P.C. in 1976. The High Court would not have bee'n justified in H
32 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [20061 SUPP. l S.C.R.

A interfering with the concurrent findings of fact in this case even prior to the
amendment of Section 100 C.P.C. The judgment of the High Court is clearly
against the provisions of Section 100 and in no uncertain terms clearly violates
the legislative intention.151-B-DI

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 2083 of 2006.
B
From the Order dated 1.8.2003 of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana
at Chandigarh in C.R.S.A. No. 885/1983.

A.S. Jattana, Dinesh Verma and A.P. Mohanty for the Appellants.

C Sudhir Walia and Mahinder Singh Dahiya for the Respondents.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

D
DAL VEER BHANDARI, J. Leave granted.

Judges must administer law according to the provisions of law. lt is the
-
bounden duty of judges to discern legislative intention in the process of
adjudication. Justice administered according to individual's whim, desire,
inclination and notion of justice would lead to confusion, disorder and chaos.

Indiscriminate and frequent interference under Section I00 C.P.C. in
E cases which are totally devoid of any substantial question of law is not only
against the legislative intention but is also the main cause of huge pendency
of second appeals in the High Courts leading to colossal delay in the
administration of justice in civil cases in our country.
Despite declaration of law in numerous judgments, it is evident that the
F scope and ambit of Section I00 C.P.C. has not been properly appreciated and
applied in a large number of cases. We are, once again making a serious
endeavour to discern legislative intention, ambit and scope of interference
under Section 100 C.P.C .. We plan to carry out this exercise by critically
examining important judgments decided before and after 1976 amendment in
the Section I00 C.P.C .. This <:ffort is made with the hope that in future the
G High Courts would decide according to the scope of Section 100 C.P.C. and
this Court may not be compelled to interfere with the judgments delivered
under Section 100 C.P.C ..
Brief factual background
-
H
This appeal is directed against the judgment of the Punjab & Haryana

-
GURDEV KAUR v. KAKI [DAL VEER BHANDARI, J.] 33
High Court dated 1.8.2003 passed in Civil Regular Second Appeal 885of1983. A
By this judgment the High Court has set aside the concurrent findings of
facts of the Courts below. The High Court consequently cancelled the mutation
of the property belonging to the deceased Chanan Singh in favour of his wife
Bhagwan Kaur and directed that the property be mutated in favour of the
heirs of the deceased Chanan Singh in accordance with the Hindu Succession B
Act, 1956. This Court on 3.11.2003, while issuing notice on the Special Leave
Petition, directed the status-quo be maintained in the meantime. Now this
appeal has been placed before us for final adjudication.

Brief· facts, which are necessary to dispose of this. appeal, are
recapitulated as under: c
The case relates to the validity. of the Will of the deceased, Chanan
Singh .. The relationship between the parties .is as follows. The deceased
Chanan Singh, s/o Hira Singh died on 6.2.1969. He had two wives. The first
wife was Sham Kaur, who died before Chanan Singh and the second wife was
Bhagwan Kaur. From the first wife Sham Kaur he had two daughters Kaki and D
Har Kaur. Har Kaur also died on 29 .9.1984. Kaki and Har Kaur are the plaintiffs
in the Civil Suit filed before the Subordinate Judge, lst Class, Barnala

.Bhagwan Kaur also had three daughters - Dalip Kaur, Gurdev Kaur and
Mukhtiar Kaur. Chanan. Singh dec\!ased did not have a son .either from E
Bhagwan Kaur or from Sham Kaur. The plaintiffs Kaki and. Har Kaur filed a
sui.t for joint possession of the property of deceased. Chanan Singh. It is .not
disputed that the deceased Chanan Singh had two wives Bhagwan Kaur iJnd
Sham Kaur. According to the plaintiffs Kaki and Har Kaur, the deceased
Chanan Singh did not execute any Will out of his free will because he was
not in a position to protect his own welfare ?.nd in fact he was not in· a F
position to execute any Will at all.

Chanan Singh died on 6.2.1969 in Bamala and the defendant Bhagwan
Kaur got the mutation of inheritance of Chanan Singh sanction!Jd from the
concerned authority on the basis of the alleged Will dated 18.1.1969. The case G
of the plaintiffs is that they never received any notice about the sanctioning
of mutation and this has been carried out by defendant Bhagwan Kaur in
connivance with the revenue authorities.

According to the plaintiffs, the parties are governed by the Hindu
Succession Act. The plaintiffs were entitled to I/3rd share in the inheritance H
34 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2006) SUPP. I S.C.R.

A of Chanan Singh. According to the plaintiffs, the defendants are in illegal
possession of the suit land and that the defendants had threatened to alienate
the suit land on 6.3.1980.

The defendants in the written statement had admitted the relationship
of the plaintiffs with the deceased Chanan Singh. The defendant Bhagwan
B Kaur alleged that she is the owner and in possession of the suit land on the
basis of the Will dated 18.1.1969 executed by her husband in her favour.

The defendant Bhagwan Kaur also alleged that she was the only one
who all through stayed and looked after the deceased Chanan Singh during
C his life time. She further stated that Chanan Singh had got his all daughters
married after spending huge amount of money in their marriages. She also
alleged that the daughters of Chanan Singh never served him durmg his
lifetime. In fact the plaintiffs had never even visited him. The deceased
Chanan Singh had executed a valid Will in her favour out of his free will on
18.1.1969 because of the life long service rencTered by her. She prayed that
D the suit filed by the plaintiffs be dismissed.

The Trial Court, on the basis of the pleadings of the parties and
documents on record, framed eleven issues. The plaintiffs produced five
witnesses and the defendants produced three witnesses in support of their
E respective stands before the Trial Court. The plaintiffs had also examined K.C.
Jaidka, Handwriting Expert. In the cross-examination he stated that the Will
bears the thumb impression of the right hand of the deceased, but the usual
practice is of obtaining the thumb impression of left hand on the Will.

According to the plaintiffs the Will is alleged to have been attested by
F three witnesses and only one attesting witness was examined by the defendants
and even that witness had not fully supported the case of the defendants.
The Will is not a registered document and is written at the house of the
deceased Chanan Singh. He was about 70 years of age at the time of execution
of the Will and, according to the plaintiffs, he could not protect his own
G interest and welfare. The propounder of the Will was present at the time of
the execution of the Will. According to the plaintiffs, the defendants had
failed to discharge the onus regarding execution of the Will by leading cogent
evidence.

On the contrary, it was argued by the defendants that Exhibit D-1 is a
H natural document and had been executed by the deceased Chanan Singh in
GURDEV KAUR v. KAKI [DAL VEER BHANDARI, J.] 35

favour of his wife Bhagwan Kaur. It is an admitted case of the parties that A
the deceased Chanan Singh had no son and all his daughters were married
long ago. In order to protect the interest of his wife Bhagwan Kaur and to
ensure that she does not have to depend on anyone for her maintenance and
welfare the deceased Chanan Singh had executed the Will in favour of his wife
Bhagwan Kaur. The deceased Chanan Singh had put left hand thumb
impression on the Will. The defendants had examined Amar Singh D.W. I and B
Mittar Singh, D.W.2 who is the scribe of the Will, deposed that the Will was
scribed by him at the instance ofChanan Singh. Amar Singh D.W.l and other
attesting witnesses of the Will did not fully support the defendant Bhagwan
Kaur as she had filed a suit against one Jangir Singh and the attesting
witnesses had resiled at the instance of the said Jangir Singh. C
The mutation on the basis of the Will was entered immediately after the
death of Chanan Singh and, according to the defendants, the Will was shown
to the plaintiffs at that time. It is further submitted that the plaintiffs have filed
this suit at the instance of the said Jangir Singh. It was submitted by the
defendants that, in these circumstances, the Court could rely on that part of D
the statement which seemed to be true. According to the defendants they
have proved execution of the Will beyond doubt and the plaintiffs' suit
deserves to be dismissed.

In the Will, the deceased, Chanan Singh had recited that he has had five
daughters and all of them were married. He has further recited that he had E
spent huge amount in their marriages, even more than the share which the
daughters could have got in the inheritance of the deceased Chanan Singh.
It is also mentioned that his wife defendant Bhagwan Kaur alone used to
reside with him and dutifully served her husband. Whereas, the plaintiffs Kaki
& Har Kaur never visited the deceased, Chanan Singh. F
According to the Trial Court, in this background, it has to be seen
whether the deceased had in fact executed the Will out of his free will or not?
It is mentioned that in the ordinary course when a person has no son and
all his daughters are happily married, the normal anxiety is to ensure the future
of his wife, particularly when she alone had stayed with him all his life and G
look after him till the last. The Trial Court did mention in the judgment that
Amat Singh D.W. l did not support the case of the defendant. He was declared
hostile. The counsel for the defendants sought permission to cross-examine
him. In the cross-examination it is clearly stated that Bhagwan Kaur used to
take care of the deceased, Chanan Singh. He also stated that the deceased H
36 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2006] SUPP. I S.C.R.

A Chanan Singh might have executed the Will giving the entire property to his
wife. Bhagwan Kaur. He also stated that the deceased Chanan Singh had put
his thumb impression in his presence on the Will. He also stated in his
statement that the testator Chanan Singh could converse at the time of the
execution of the said Will meaning thereby that he was in sound disposing
mind at the time of the execution of the Will.
B
The Trial Court stated that the other attesting witness of the Will Pundit
Raghbar Dayal was also present when he had put a thumb mark in the Will.
He further stated that Pundit Raghbar Dayal was present at the time of
execution of the Will. This witness has stated that Bhagwan Kaur was present
C at the time of execution of the Will but she had not uttered any word and
Chanan Singh was sitting at the time of the execution of the Will. According
to the Trial Court, requirement of law is that for the purpose of proving the
attesting document, at least one attesting witness is required to be examined
by the party. It is not the requirement of the law that the attesting witness
must also support him on every asp.:ct. The requirement of law is that the
D testator should put his mark on the Will in the presence of the attesting
witnesses and the attesting witnesses should attest the Will in the presence
of the testator, has been fulfilled in the present case, as is evident from the
statement of Amar Singh D.W.l.

The plaintiffs argued before the Trial Court that the deceased Chanan
E Singh was under the influence of the defendant Bhagwan Kaur, but according
to the Trial Court it was not the pleaded case of the plaintiffs in the plaint.
Therefore, no significance was attached to this submission. The Trial Court
also stated that the Will in the present case was immediately produced before
the revenue authorities and was not kept secretly. The plaintiffs have admitted
F that this Will was shown to the daughters of Chanan Singh immediately after
his death, but the plaintiffs have alleged that the Will was in favour of the
daughters. It was also not the pleaded case of the plaintiffs in the plaint.
Thus, the Trial Court atter evaluating the entire evidence on record held that
the Will Exhibit D-l was duly executed by the deceased Chanan Singh in
favour of his wife Bhagwan Kaur and was a natural document.
G
The relevant part of the Will reads as under:

"I have already incurred expenditure on the marriages, Chhaks (presents
given to the bride by her maternal uncles or grand parents) and
Chhuchaks (articles given on the birth of daughter's child) ceremonies
H
GURDEV KAUR v. KAKl (DALVEERBHANDARI, J.] 37
of my five daughters, more than the value of their share m the A
property. All of.them are Abad (Happy) in their respective matrimonial
houses: Now my wife Smt. BhagwanKaur takes care of me. I, having
been pleased with her services, want to devolve my entire ·property
upoh my wife Smt. Bhagwan Kaur."

When execution of the Will is fully proved then in order to ascertain B
the wishes of the testator we· have·to look to .the text of the Will. The intention
of the testator has to be discerned from the language used in the Will. In view
ofsuch·clear and unambiguous language used in this Will perhaps, no other
interpretation was possible. The. Trial Court clearly. arrived at a conclusion
that the deceased Chanan Singh had. executed the Will in favour of his wife, C
Bhagwan Kaur.

Aggrieved by the order of the Subordinate Judge, Grade II, Bamala, the
appellants filed an appeal beforethe learned Additional District Judge, Barnala.
After hearing counsel for the parties, the ·learned Additional Distrjct Judge
dismissed the appeal on the following reasons: D
._, I. The Trial Court \:Orrectly came to a definite finding that the
propounder of the Will proved that the _testator was in a sound
disposing mind when he had executed the Will in question.
2. The Appellate Court observed that if the conscience of the Court
is satisfied on the point of due execution of the Will because the E
testator was in a sound disposing mind, in that event even if the
Will is not registered, the same has to be upheld as a valid and
genuine document. ·,
3. The Appellate Court. also observed. that in the case in hand,
Bindraban; the scribe and Amar Singh; D.W. I, attesting witness F
)
examined by Bhagwan Kaur defendant, have amply proved that
Chanan Singh, (who was about 70 years of age), was in sound
disposing mind when he dictated the terms of the Will and after
· admitting its contents to be correct, had affixed his thumb
impression in their presence. G
The Additional District Judge also stated that there is nothing on
record to show that the appellants (who were plaintiffs in the Trial Court) ever
visited the deceased Chanan Singh or rendered any service to him during his
life time: In the said judgment, it is also noted that the Will was not challenged
for a period of 11 years since its execution in 1969. He also stated that it is ,H
38 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2006] SUPP. I S.C.R.

A evident from the mutation order that Bhagwan Kaur, after the death ofChanan '
Singh promptly produced the Will before the revenue authorities and on that
basis they sanctioned the mutation in respect of the land in dispute in her
favour. According to the Appellate Court, it is unbelievable that the appellants
remained ignorant of the attestation of the mutation or the attestation of the
B Will set up by Bhagwan Kaur.

In the Appellate Court's judgment, it is also mentioned that Bhagwan
Kaur uninterruptedly remained in peaceful possession of the entire suit land
since the death of the deceased Chanan Singh in 1969 till this date. It is also
mentioned in the judgment that Bhagwan Kaur, as is evident from the certified
C copy of the judicial record of this case, remained interlocked in civil proceedings
with Jangir Singh, tenant, which are still pending and in all probability the
present suit was got instituted at the behest of Jangir Singh.

The Appellate Court also observed that, in view of the facts and
circumstances of the case, the learned Trial Court was fully justified in
D upholding the Will as a genuine and valid document and the mutation attested
on its basis was unexceptionable. The learned Additional District Judge, by
a comprehensive judgment, affirmed all the findings of the Trial Court and
dismissed the appeal with costs.

The appellants, aggrieved by the judgment of the Trial Court and the
E Appellate Court, preferred second appeal under Section I 00 C.P.C. before the
High Court of Punjab and Haryana.

The learned Single Judge of the High Court set aside the concurrent
findings of facts arrived at by the Courts below predominantly on the ground
that, in the normal circumstances, a prudent man would have bequeathed the
F property in favour of his legal heirs. However, in the present case, the testator
has disinherited the plaintiffs.

The findings arrived at by the High Court are totally erroneous. The
Court does not sit in appeal over the testator's decision. The Court's role is
G limited to examining whether the instrument propounded as the last Will of
the deceased is or is not that by the testator and whether it is the product
of the free and sound disposing mind.

Amar Singh D.W.l, in the examination-in-chief, did not support the case
of the defendants. He was declared hostile and the counsel for the defendants
H sought permission to cross-examine him. In the cross-examination, he clearly
GURDEV KAUR v. KAKI [DAL VEER BHANDARI, J.] 39

stated that Bhagwan Kaur used to take care of the deceased Chanan Singh. A
He also stated that the deceased Chanan Singh might have executed the will
giving the entire property to his wife Bhagwan Kaur. He also stated that the
deceased Chanan Singh had put his thumb mark on the Will in his presence.
He also stated in his statement that the testator Chanan Singh could converse
at the time of execution of the will, meaning thereby that he was in sound B
disposing mind at the time of execution of the will.

The learned Single Judge of the High Court did not take into
consideration the entire statement of Amar Singh D. W.1 in proper perspective
while setting aside the concurrent findings of the Courts below. The findings
of the High Court are erroneous and contrary to record. C
The question which now arises for our adjudication is whether, according
to the true delineated scope of Section I00 of the Code of Civil Procedure,
the High Court was justified in interfering with the concurrent findings of fact.

We deem it appropriate to reproduce Section JOO C.P.C. before
D
amendment.
:r
Section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (for short, C.P.C.)
corresponds to Section 584 of the old Civil Procedure Code of 1882. The
Section I 00 (prior to 1976 amendment) reads as under :

"JOO. Second appeal-{)) "Save where otherwise provided in the
E
body of this Code or by any other law for the time being in force, an
appeal shall lie to the High Court from every decree passed in appeal
by any Court subordinate to a High Court on any of the following
grounds, namely :
-~
(a) the decision being contrary to law or to some usage having the
F
force of law;
(b) the decision having failed.to determine some material issue of law
or usage having the force of law;
(c) a substantial error or defect in the procedure provided by this G
Code or by any other law for the time being in force, which may
possibly have produced error or defect in the decision of the
case upon the merits.
(2) An appeal may lie under this section from an appellate decree
i
passed ex parte." H
40 SCPREME COURT REPORTS [2006[ SUPP. I S.C.R.

A A reference of series of cases decided by the Privy Council and this
Court would reveal true import, scope and ambit of Section 100 C.P.C..

Cases decided prior to 1976 amendment both by the Privy Council and
the Supreme Court dealing with the scope of Section I 00 C.P.C.

B The Privy Council, in Luchman v. Puna, (1889) 16 Calcutta 753 (P.C.),
observed that· a second appeal can lie only on one or the other grounds
specified in the present section.

The Privy Council, in another case Pratap Chunder v. Mohandranath,
(1890) ILR 17 Calcutta 291 (P.C.), the limitation as to the power of the court
c imposed by sections 100 and 101 in a second appeal ought to be attended
to, and an appellant ought not to be allowed to question the finding of the
first appellate court upon a matter of fact.

In Durga Chowdharani v. Jawahar Singh, (1891) 18 Cal 23 (PC), the
D Privy Council held that the High Court had no jurisdiction to entertain a
second appeal on the ground of erroneous finding of fact. however gross or
inexcusable the error may seem to be. The clear declaration of law was made
in the said judgment as early as in 1891. This judgment was followed in the
case of Ramratan Shuku/ v. Mussumat Nandu. ( 1892) 19 Cal 249 (252) (PC)
and many others. The Court observed :
E
"It has now been conclusively settled that the third court ... cannot
entertain an appeal upon question as to the soundness of findings of
fact by the second court, if there is evidence to be considered, the
decision of the second court, however unsatisfactory it might be if
examined, must stand final."
F
In the case of Ram Gupal v. Shakshuton, (1893) ILR 20 Calcutta 93
(P.C.), the Court emphasized that a court of second appeal is not competent
to entertain questions as to the soundness of a finding of facts by the courts
below.

G The same principle has been reiterated in Rudr Prasad v. Bui} Nath,
(1893) ILR 15 Allahabad 367. The Court observed that a judge to whom a
memorandum of second appeal is presented for admission is entitled to
consider whether any of the grounds specified in this section exist and apply
to the case, and if they do not, to reject the appeal summarily.

H
'
Similarly, before amendment in l 976, this Court also had an occasion to
GURDEV KAUR v. KAKI [DAL VEER BHANDARI, J.] 41

examine the scope of Section 100 C.P.C. In Deity Pattabhiramaswamy v. .'!· A
Hanymayya and Ors., AIR (1959) SC 57, the High Court of Madras set aside
the findings of the District Judge, Guntur, while deciding the second appeal.
This Court observed that notwithstanding the clear. and authoritative
pronouncement of the Privy Council on the limits and the scope ofthe High
Court's jurisdiction under section I 00, Civil Procedure Code, "some learned
Judges of the High Courts are disposing of Second Appeals as if they were l3
first appeals. This introduces, apart from the fact that the High Court assumes
and exercises a jurisdiction which it does not possess, a gambling element in
the litigation and confusion in the mind of the litigant public. This case
affords a typical illustration of such interference by a Judge of the High Court
in excess of his jurisdiction under Section 100, Civil Procedure Code. We C
have, therefore, no alternative but tci set aside the judgment of the High Court
which had no jurisdiction to interfere in second appeal with the findings of
fact arrived at by the first appellate Court based upon an appreciation of the
relevant evidence.

In M Ramappa v. M Bojjappa, (1963] SCR 673, the Andhra Pradesh D
High Court interfered with the finding recorded by the Appellate Court which,
;r in turn, had itself reversed the Trial Court's finding on the same question of
fact. While setting aside the decree of the second Appellate Court, this Court
observed :

"It may be that in some cases, the High Court dealing with the second E
appeal is inclined to take the view that what it regards to be justice
or equity of the case has not been served by the findings of fact
recorded by courts of fact, but on such occasions it is necessary to
remember that what is administered in courts is justice according to
law and considerations of fair play and equity however important they F
may be, must yield to clear and express provisions of the law. If in
reaching its decisions in second appeals, the High Court contravenes
the express provisions of section 100, it would inevitably introduce in
such decisions an element of disconcerting unpredictability which is
usually associated with gambling·; and that is a reproach which judicial
process must constantly and scrupulously endeavour to avoid." G
It may be pertinent to mention that as early as in 1890 the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council stated that there is no jurisdiction to entertain
a second appeal on the ground of an erroneous finding of fact, however,
gross or inexcusable the error may seem to be and they added a note of
warning that no Court in India has power to add, or enlarge, the grounds H
42 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2006] SUPP. I S.C.R.

A specified in Section I00 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Even before the amendment, interference under Section I00 C.P.C. was
limited, which has now been further curtailed, which we would be dealing in
cases decided by this Court after the amendment.

B We have given reference of a large number of cases decided by the
Privy Council and this Court to clearly understand the ambit and scope of
Section J00 before amendment.

The Amendment Act of 1976 has introduced drastic changes in the
scope and ambit of Section JOO C.P.C. A second appeal under Section JOO
C C.P.C. is now confined to cases where a question of law is involved and such
question must be a substantial one. Section I00, as amended, reads as under:

"JOO. Second appeal.

(I) Save as otherwise expressly provided in the body of this Code
D or by any other law for the time being in force, an appeal shall lie to
the High Court from every decree passed in appeal by any Court
subordinate to the High Court, if the High Court is satisfied that the
case involves a substantial question of law.

(2) An appeal may lie under this section from an appellate decree
E passed ex parte.

(3) In an appeal under this section, the memorandum of appeal
shall precisely state the substantial question of law involved in the
appeal.

F (4) Where the High Court is satisfied that a substantial question
of law is involved in any case, it shall formulate that question.

(5) The appeal shall be heard on the question so formulated and
the respondent shall, at the hearing of the appeal, be allowed to argue
that the case does not involve such question:
G
Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall be deemed to take
away or abridge the power of the Court to hear, for reasons to be
recorded, the appeal on any other substantial question of law, not
formulated by it, if it is satisfied that the case involves such question."

H '
GURDEV KAUR v. KAKI [DAL VEER BHANDARI, J.] 43

Cases decided after 1976 amendment A
In Bholaram v. Amirchand, [1981] 2 SCC 414 a three-Judge Bench of
this Court reiterated the statement of law. The High Court, however, seems
to have justified its interference in second appeal mainly on the ground that
the judgments of the courts below were perverse and were given in utter
disregard of the important materials on the record particularly misconstruction B
of the rent note. Even if we accept the main reason given by the High Court
the utmost that could be said was that the findings of fact by the courts
below were wrong or grossly inexcusable but that by itself would not entitle
. ' the High Court to interfere in the absence of a clear error of law.

In Kshitish 'Chandra Purkait v. Santosh Kumar Purkait, [1997] 5 SCC c
438, a three judge Bench of this Court held: (a) that the High Court should
be satisfied that the case involved a substantial question of law and not mere
question of law; (b) reasons for permitting the plea to be raised should also
be recorded; ( c) it has the duty to formulate the substantial questions of law
and to put the opposite party on notice and give fair and proper opportunity D
to meet the point. The Court also held that it is the duty cast upon the High
j Court to formulate substantial question of law involved in the case even at
the initial stage.

This Court had occasion to determine the same issue in Dnyanoba
... Bhaurao Shemade v. Maroti Bhaurao Marnor, [1999] 2 SCC 471. The Court E
stated that the High Court can exercise its jurisdiction under Section 100
C.P.C. only on the basis of substantial questions of law which are to be
framed at the time of admission of the second appeal and the second appeal
has to be heard and decided only on the basis of the such duly framed
substantial questions of law.
F
' A mere look at the said provision shows that the High Court can
exercise its jurisdiction under Section 100 C.P.C. only on the basis of substantial
questions of law which are to be framed at the time of admission of the
second appeal and the second appeal has to be heard and decided only on
the basis of such duly framed substantial questions of law. The impugned G
judgment shows that no such procedure was followed by the learned Single
Judge. It is held by a catena of judgments by this Court, some of them being,
Kshitish Chandra Purkait v. Santosh Kumar Purkait, [1997] 5 SCC 438 an~
Sheet Chand v. Prakash Chand, [ 1998] 6 SCC 683 that the judgment rendered
by the High Court under Section 100 C.P.C. without following the aforesaid
i H
44 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2006] SUPP. I S.C.R.

A procedure cannot be sustained. On this short ground alone, this appeal is
required to be allowed.

In Kanai Lal Garari v. :Hurari Canguly, (1999] 6 SCC 35 the Court has
observed that it is mandatory to formulate the substantial question of law
while entertaining the appeal in absence of which the judgment is to be set
B aside. In Panchugopal Barua v. Umesh Chandra Goswami, [1997] 4 SCC 713
and Sanlosh Hazari v. Purushollam Tiwari, [200 Ij 3 SCC 179 the Court
reiterated the statement of law that the High Court cannot proceed to hear
a second appeal without formulating the substantial question of law. These
judgments have been referred to in the later judgment of K. Raj and Anr. v.
C Muthamma, [2001] 6 SCC 279. A statement oflaw has been reiterated regarding
the scope and interference of the Court in second appeal under Section I00
of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Again in San/ash Hazari v. Purushollam Tiwari (deceased) by lrs..
[200 J] 3 SCC 179, another three-Judge Bench of this Court correctly delineated
D the scope of Section I00 C.P.C . The Court observed that an obligation is cast
on the appellant to precisely state in the memorandum of appeal ihe substantial
question of Jaw involved in the appeal and which the appellant proposes to
urge before the Court. In the said judgment, it was further mentioned that the
High Court must be satisfied that a substantial question of law is involved
in the case and such question has then to be formulated by the High Court.
E According to the Court the word substantial, as qualifying "question of law",
means - of having substance, essential, real, of sound worth, important or
considerable. It is to be understood as something in contradistinction with
- technical, of no substance or consequence, or academic merely. However,
it is clear that the legislature has chosen not to qualify the scope of"substantial
p question of law" by suffixing the words "of general importance" as has been
done in many other provisions such as Section I09 of the Code of Article
133(l)(a) of the Constitution.

In Kamti Devi (Smt.) and Anr. v. Pus hi Ram, [200 I] 5 SCC 311 the Court
came to the conclusion that the finding thus reached by the first appellate
G court cannot be interfered with in a second appeal as no substantial question
of law would have flowed out of such a finding.

In Thiagarajan v. Sri Venugopalaswamy B. Kail, [2004] 5 SCC 762, this
Court has held that the High Court in its jurisdiction under Section 100 C.P.C.
was not justified in interfering with the findings of fact. The Court observed
H
GURDEV KAUR v. KAKI [DAL VEER BHANDARI, J.] 45
that:to say the least the approach of the High Court was not proper. It is the A
obligation of the Courts of law to further the clear intendment of the.legislature
and not frustrate it by excluding the same. This Court in a catena of deci~ion~
held that where findings of fact by the lower appellate Court are based on
evidence, the High Court in second appeal cannot substitute its own findings
on reappreciation of evidence merely on the ground that another view was B
possible.

· In the same case, this Court observed that in a case where special leave
petition was filed against .a judgment of the High Court interfering with
findings of fact of the lower Appellate Court. This Court observed that to say
the least the approach of the High Court was not proper. It is the obligation C
of the Courts of law to further the clear intendment of the legislature and not
frustrate it by excluding the same. This Court further observed that the High
Court. in second appeal cannot substitute its own findings on reappreciation
of evidence merely on the ground that another view was. possible.

This Court again reminded the High Court in Commissioner, Hindu D
Religious & Charitable Endowments v. P. Shanmugama, [2005] 9 SCC 232
;~ that the High Court has no jurisdiction in second appeal to interfere with the
finding of facts. .

Again, this Court in the case of State of Kera/a v. Mohd. Kunhi, [2005]
JO sec 139 has reiterated the same principle that the High Court is not E
justified-in interfering with the concurrent findings of fact. This Court observed
that, in doing so, the High Court has gone beyond the scope of Section 100
of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Again, in the case of Madhavan Nair v. Bhaskar Pillai, [2005] 10 SCC
553, this Court observed that the High Court was not justified in interfering F
with the concurrent findings.of fact. This Court observed that it is well settled
that even if the .first appellate court commits an error in recording a finding
of fact, that itself will not be a ground. for the High Court to upset the same.

Again, in the case of Harjeet Singh v. Amrik Singh, [2005] 12 sec 270, G
this Court with anguish has mentioned that the High Court has no jurisdictio~
to interfere with the findings of fact arrived at by the first appellate court. _In
this case, the findings of the Trial Court and the lower Appellate Court
regarding readiness and willingness to perform their part of contract was set
aside by the High Court in its jurisdiction under Section ·100 C.P.C .. This
H
46 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2006) SUPP. I S.C.R.

A Court, while setting aside the judgment of the High Court, observed that the
High Court was not justified in interfering with the concurrent findings of fact
arrived at by the Courts below.

In the case of H. P. Pyarejan v. Dasappa, [2006] 2 SCC 496 delivered
on 6.2.2006, this Court found serious infirmity in the judgment of the High
B Court. This Court observed that it suffers from the vice of exercise of jurisdiction
which did not vest in the High Court. Under Section 100 of the Code (as
amended in 1976) the jurisdiction of the Court to interfere with the judgments
of the Courts below is confined to hearing of substantial questions of law.
Interference with the finding of fact by the High Court is not warranted if it
C invokes reappreciation of evidence. This Court found that the impugned
judgment of the High Court was vulnerable and needed to be set aside.

Legislative Background in the 54th Report of the Law Commission of
India submitted in 1973

D The comprehensive S4th Report of the Law Commission of India
submitted to the Government of India in 1973 gives historical background
regarding ambit and scope of Section 100 C.P.C .. According to the said report,
any rational system of administration of civil law should recognize that litigation
in civil cases should have two hearings on facts-one by the Trial Court and
one by the Court of Appeal.
E
In the 54th Report of the Law Commission of India, it is incorporated
that it may be permissible to point out that a search for absolute truth in the
administration of justice, however, laudable, must in the very nature of things
be put under some reasonable restraint. In other words, a search for truth has
F to be reconciled with the doctrine of finality. In judicial hierarchy finality is
absolutely important because that gives certainty to the law. Even in the
interest of litigants themselves it may not be unreasonable to draw a line in
respect of the two different categories of litigation where procedure will say
at a certain stage that questions of fact have been decided by the lower
courts and the matter should be allowed to rest where it lies without any
G further appeal. This may be somewhat harsh to an individual litigant; but, in
the larger interest of the administration of justice, this view seems to us to
be juristically sound and pragmatically wise. It is in the light of this basic
approach that we will now proceed to consider some of the cases which were
decided more than a century ago.
t
H
GURDEV KAUR v. KAKI [DAL VEER BHANDARI, J.) 47

) The question could perhaps be asked, why the litigant who wishes to A
have justice from the highest Court of the State should be denied the
opportunity to do so, at least where there is a flaw in the conclusion on facts
reached by the trial Court or by the Court of first appeal. The answer is
obvious that even litigants have to be protected against too persistent a
pursuit of their goal of perfectly satisfactory justice. An unqualified right of B
first appeal may be necessary for the satisfaction of the defeated litigant; but
a wide right of second appeal is more in the nature of a luxury.

~ The rational behind allowing a second appeal on a question of law is,
that there ought to be some tribunal having jurisdiction that will enable it to
maintain, and, where necessary, re-establish, uniformity throughout the State C
on important legal issues, so that within the area of the State, the law, in so
far as it is not enacted law, should be laid down, or capable of being laid
down, by one court whose rulings will be binding on all courts, tribunals and
authorities within the area over which it has jurisdiction. This is implicit in any
legal system where the higher courts have authority to make binding decisions
on questions of law. D
It may be relevant to recall the statement of Douglas Payne on "Appeals
on Questions of Fact" reported in ( 1958) Current Legal Problem I 81. He
observed that the real justification for appeals on questions of this sort is not
so much that the law laid down by the appeal court is likely to be superior
to that laid down by a lower court as that there should be a final rule laid E
down which binds all future courts and so facilitates the prediction of the law.
In such a case the individual litigants are sacrificed, with some justification,
on the altar of law-making and must find such consolation as they can in the
monument of a leading case.
F
' Historical perspective

The predecessors of the High Courts in their Civil appellate jurisdiction
were the Sadar Divani Adalats. The right of appeal to the Sadar Divani Adalat
was very wide initially, but came to be severely curtailed in the course of time.
The "Conwallis Scheme", for example, made provision for two appeals in G
every category of cases, irrespective of its value. By 1814, this was reduced
to one appeal only. Only in cases of Rs.5,000 or over, there could be two
appeals; one to the Provincial Court of Appeal and second to the Sadar
Divani Adalat. As Lord Hastings observed, -

"The facility of appeal is founded on a most laudable principle of H
48 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2006] SUPP. I S.C.R.

A securing, by double and treble checks, the proper decision of all suits,
but the utopian idea, in its attempt to prevent individual injury from
a wrong decision, has been productive of general injustice by
withholding redress, and general inconvenience, by perpetuating
litigation".

B Arrears
The primary cause of the accumulation of arrears of second appeal in
the High Court is the laxity with which second appeals are admitted without
serious scrutiny of the provi!>ions of Section I 00 C.P.C. It is the bounden duty
.
C of the High Court to entertain second appeal within the ambit and scope of
Section 100 C.P.C.

The question which is often asked that why a litigant should have the
right of two appeals even on questions of law. The answer to this query is
that in every State there are number of District Courts and courts in the
D District cannot be final arbiters on questions of law. If the law is to be
uniformly interpreted and applied, questions of law must be decided by the
highest Court in the State whose decisions are binding on all subordinate
courts.

Rationale behind permitting second appeal on question of law
E
The rationale behind allowing a second appeal on a question of law is,
that there ought to be some tribunal having a jurisdiction that will enable it
to maintain, and, where necessary, re-establish, uniformity throughout the
State on important legal issues, so that within the area of the State, the law,
in so far as it is not enacted law, should be laid down, or capable of being
F laid down, by one court whose rulings will be binding on all courts, tribunals
and authorities within the area over which it has jurisdiction. This is implicit
in any legal system where the higher courts have authority to make binding
decisions on question of law.

G The analysis of cases decided by the Privy Council and this Court prior
to 1976 clearly indicated the scope of interference under Section I 00 C.P.C.
by this Court. Even prior to amendment, the consistent position has been that
the Courts should not interfere with the concurrent findings of facts.

Now, after 1976 Amendment, the scope of Section 100 has been drastically
H curtailed and narrowed down. The High Courts would have jurisdiction of
GURDEV KAUR v. KAKI[DAL VEER BHANDARI, J.) 49
interfering under Section 100 C.P.C. only in a case where substantial questions A
of law are involved and those questions have been clearly formulated in the
memorandum of appeal:· At the time of admission of the secorid appeal, it is
the bounden duty and obligation of the High Court to formulate substantial
questions of faw and then only the High Court is permitted tc, proceed with
the case to decide those questions of law. The language used in the amended
section specifically incorporates the. words as "substantial question of law" B
which is indicative of the legislative intention. It must be clearly understood
that the legislative intention was very clear that legislature never wanted
second appeal to become "third trial on facts" or "one more dice in the
gamble". The effect of the amendment mainly, according to the amended
section, was: c
(i) The High Court would be justified in admitting the second appeal
only when a substantial question of law is involved;

(ii) The substantial question of law to precisely state such question;
D
(iii) A duty has been cast on. the High Court to formulate substantial
question of law before hearing the appeal;

. (iv) Another part of the Section is that the appeal shall be heard. only
on that question.
E
The fact that, in a series of cases, this Court was compelled to interfere
was because the true legislative iiitendment and scope of Section 100 C.P.C.
have neither been appreciated nor applied: A class of judges while administering
law honestly believe that, if they are ~atisfied that, in any second appeal
~rought before them evidence has been grossly misappreciated either by the
lower appellate court or by both the courts below, it is their d\)ty to interfere, F
because they seem to feel thl!t l! decree following upon a gross misappreciation
of evidence involv.es inj_ustice and it is the duty of the High Court to redr~ss
su.ch injustice. We would like to reiterate that the justice has to be adniinistered
in accordance with law.

When Section 100 C.P.C. is critically examined then, according to the G
legislative mandate, the interference by the High Court is permissible only in
cases involving substantial questions of law.

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as early as in 1890 stated
1 that there is no jurisdiction to entertain a second appeal on the ground of an
H
50 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2006] SUPP. I S.C.R.

A erroneous finding of fact, however, gross or inexcusable the error may seem
to be and they added a note of warning that no Court in India has power to
add to, or enlarge, the grounds specified in Section I 00.

The High Court seriously erred in interfering with the findings of facts
arrived at by the Trial Court and affirmed by the first Appellate Court.
B
The High Court in the impugned judgment has observed as under :-

"In the normal circumstances a prudent man would have bequeathed
the property in favour of his legal heirs. However, in the present case,
,.
the testator has disinherited the plaintiffs."
c
The High Comt also observed that "no father in normal circumstances
would like to disinherit the daughters."

The High Court has clearly deviated from the settled principle of
interpretation of the Will. The Court does not sit in appeal over the right or
D wrong of the testator's decision. The Court's role is limited to examining
whether the instrument propounded as the last Will of the deceased is or is
not that by the testator and whether it is the product of the free and sound
•
disposing mind. It is only for the purpose of examining the authenticity or
otherwise of the instrument propounded as the last Will, that the Court looks
E into the nature of the bequest.

The learned Single Judge of the High Court has not even properly
appreciated the context of the circumstances. The contents of the Will have
to be appreciated in the context of his circumstances, and not vis-a-vis the
rules for intestate succession. It is only for this limited purpose that the Court
F examines the nature of bequest. The Court does not substitute its own
opinion for what was the testator's Will or intention as manifested from a
reading of the written instrument. After all, a Will is meant to be an expression
of his desire and therefore, may result in disinheritance of some and grant to
another. In the instant case, wife of the testator Bhagwan Kaur alone had
lived with the deceased and only she had looked after him throughout his life.
( ..,J The other daughters were all happily married a long time ago and in their
weddings the testator had spent huge amount of money. In his own words,
he had spent more than what they would have got in their respective shares
out of testator's property.

H
If a Will appears on the face of it to have been duly executed and '
GURDEVKAUR v. KAKI (DALVEERBHANDARl,J.] 51
attested in accordance with the requirements of the Statute, a presumption of A
due execution and attestation applies.

It may be pertinent to mention that in the memorandum of second
appeal filed before the High Court no substantial question of law was
formulated. Similarly, the High Court in its judgment has not formulated
question of law before hearing the appeal. B
Despite repeated declarations of law by the judgments of this Court and
the Privy Council for over a century, still the scope of Section 100 has not
been correctly appreciated and applied by the High Courts in a large number
of cases. In the facts and circumstances of this case the High Court interfered C
with the pure findings of fact ev!'.n after the amendment of Section 100 C.P.C.
in 1976. The High Court would not have been justified in interfering with the
concurrent findings of fact in this case even prior to the amendment of
Section I00 C.P.C .. The judgment of the High Court is clearly against the
provisions of Section I00 and in no uncertain terms clearly violates the
legislative intention. D
In view of the clear legislative mandate crystallized by a series of
judgments of the Privy Council and this Court ranging from 1890 to 2006, the
High Court in law could not have interfered with pure findings of facts arrived
at by the courts below. Consequently, the impugned judgment is set aside and
this appeal is allowed with costs. E
v.s.s. Appeal allowed.