Letters Patent judgment test: Section 17-B orders affecting substantive rights are appealable under Clause 10.

An order under Section 17-B of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 can qualify as a "judgment" under Clause 10 of the Patna Letters Patent if it finally determines a substantive right or obligation and has the trappings of finality. Applying that test, the Court held that an order directing payment of last drawn wages during the pendency of industrial proceedings affects valuable rights of the parties and is not a mere routine interlocutory direction. The Letters Patent Appeal was therefore maintainable, and the view that it was not appealable was erroneous.

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Issues: Whether an order passed by a Single Judge on an application under Section 17-B of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 is a "judgment" within Clause 10 of the Letters Patent of Patna and therefore appealable by way of Letters Patent Appeal.

Analysis: Clause 10 of the Letters Patent, read in the light of the corresponding Letters Patent provisions and the settled interpretation of the term "judgment", extends beyond a final decree and includes certain interlocutory orders which have the trappings of finality and affect vital and valuable rights of the parties. The governing test is whether the order finally determines an important aspect of the parties' rights and obligations. An order under Section 17-B of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 determines the workmen's entitlement to receive benefits during the pendency of proceedings and imposes a corresponding obligation on the employer to pay last drawn wages. Such an order affects substantive rights and is not a mere routine interlocutory direction.

Conclusion: The order passed under Section 17-B of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 is a judgment within Clause 10 of the Letters Patent of Patna and is appealable; the High Court's view that the Letters Patent Appeal was not maintainable was erroneous. The appeal was therefore allowed, the order of the Division Bench was set aside, and the Letters Patent Appeal was restored and remanded to the High Court for decision on merits.

Ratio Decidendi: An interlocutory order is a "judgment" for Letters Patent purposes if it finally determines a substantive right or obligation and has the trappings of finality affecting valuable rights of the parties.

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