Letters Patent judgment test for remand orders: finality on the controversy determines whether the order is appealable.

An order of remand in second appeal is not automatically a judgment under clause 10 of the Letters Patent. The controlling test is whether the impugned order conclusively decides the controversy, wholly or partly, for the court making it. A direction that merely sends an issue back for trial or further evidence is only a procedural step and is not a judgment. By contrast, where the appellate court sets aside the decree under appeal and remands the matter on the basis of a binding merits decision, the order has sufficient finality to amount to a judgment and is appealable. A dissenting view treated judgment as equivalent to a decree and denied appealability.

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Issues: Whether an order of remand passed by a single Judge in second appeal amounts to a judgment within clause 10 of the Letters Patent, and whether all remand orders are appealable.

Analysis: The controlling test adopted by the majority is whether the impugned order conclusively decides the controversy, wholly or partly, so far as the Court making it is concerned. An order that merely remits an issue for trial or directs further evidence is treated as a step in the progress of the suit and not as a judgment. By contrast, where the appellate Court sets aside the decree under appeal and sends the case back on the basis of a binding decision on the merits, the order has sufficient finality and falls within the expression "judgment" in clause 10. The reasoning distinguishes between procedural or ancillary directions and adjudications that determine substantive rights or unsettle an existing decree.

Conclusion: A remand order is not automatically a judgment, but where it sets aside the decree and conclusively determines the controversy to that extent, it is a judgment and is appealable under clause 10.

Dissenting Opinion: Mudholkar J. held that the word "judgment" in clause 10 of the Letters Patent means a decree in civil cases, and that a remand order not amounting to a decree is not appealable. He therefore answered the reference in the negative.

Ratio Decidendi: An order of remand is a judgment under clause 10 of the Letters Patent only when it conclusively determines the controversy, wholly or partly, and not when it merely directs further trial or evidence on a procedural issue.

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