Remand in appeal is exceptional and must yield to disposal on the existing record before sending a case back.

Remand in first appeal is an exception and should be ordered only when final adjudication is not possible on the existing record. The appellate court must first consider whether the suit was disposed of on a preliminary point, whether material issues were omitted, and whether the available evidence permits decision under the powers enabling disposal on the record. A remand cannot be used merely to provide another opportunity for cross-examination or to reconstruct the case. The text also states that a pendente lite sale does not extinguish the transferor's right to prosecute the suit on title; the transferee remains bound by the result of the litigation. On that reasoning, the remand order was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the order of remand passed by the first appellate court was sustainable in law.

Analysis: The proper approach in remand matters is to see whether the suit was disposed of on a preliminary point, whether material issues were omitted or wrongly not decided, and whether the available evidence still permits final adjudication. Remand is an exception and should be avoided where the appellate court can decide the controversy on the existing record, particularly by resorting first to the powers under Order XLI Rule 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure. A remand cannot be ordered merely to afford another chance for cross-examination or to reconstruct a case, and it is not justified unless necessary to prevent failure of justice. The trial court had also misdirected itself by treating the pendente lite sale as destroying the plaintiff's right to sue, whereas a transfer during litigation only subjects the transferee to the result of the litigation and does not extinguish the transferor's right to prosecute the suit on title.

Conclusion: The remand order was unsustainable because the first appellate court had not first examined whether the case could be finally decided on the available materials.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded and the matter was sent back to the first appellate court for fresh consideration in accordance with law, with directions to decide whether a final disposal was possible on the existing record and, only if necessary, to consider remand.

Ratio Decidendi: An appellate court should not order remand unless final adjudication is not possible on the material already available, and it must first attempt disposal under the provisions enabling decision on the existing record.

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