Privy Council appeal certificate invalid where valuation requirement was unmet despite a substantial question of law.

A certificate for leave to appeal to the Privy Council was ineffective because the statutory conditions for jurisdiction under Section 596 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1882, were not satisfied. The certificate stated that the valuation was below Rs. 10,000 while still purporting to certify compliance with the provision, creating an internal inconsistency. Even where an affirmed decree required a substantial question of law, that condition could not replace the valuation requirement. The surrounding order also did not show that the judges had judicially addressed the correct statutory basis for certification. The result was that the certificate was invalid and leave to appeal was not properly granted.

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Issues: Whether the certificate supporting leave to appeal to Her Majesty in Council was valid where the valuation was stated to be below Rs. 10,000 and the statutory requirements for appeal were not shown to have been satisfied.

Analysis: Under Section 596 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1882, jurisdiction to grant leave to appeal depended on the requisite valuation being met, or on the decree involving a claim or question respecting property of like value. Where the decree affirmed the court below, an additional requirement of a substantial question of law arose, but that condition could not dispense with the valuation requirement. The certificate itself stated that the valuation was below Rs. 10,000 while purporting to certify compliance with Section 596, which was inconsistent with the statute. The surrounding order did not show that the judges had judicially addressed the correct statutory basis for certifying the case as fit for appeal.

Conclusion: The certificate was invalid for want of compliance with the statutory conditions, and leave to appeal was not properly granted.

Ratio Decidendi: A certificate for appeal to the Privy Council must itself satisfy the statutory conditions for jurisdiction, and a substantial question of law cannot confer leave where the valuation requirement is not met.

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