Affirming decree under civil appeal rules requires complete affirmation of the lower court; certificate granted where statutory value was met.

Under Sections 109(a) and 110 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, the right to a certificate for appeal depended on strict satisfaction of the statutory conditions, and the decisive question was whether the appellate decree could be treated as one affirming the decision of the court below. A decree is affirming only if it wholly affirms the lower court's decision and cannot be artificially split into separate parts because it arises from several items in an account suit. As the High Court's decree materially modified the trial court decree to the petitioner's prejudice and the amount in dispute exceeded the statutory limit, the certificate was granted as of right.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled as of right to a certificate for appeal to His Majesty in Council under Sections 109(a) and 110 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, when the value of the subject-matter exceeded Rs. 10,000, the High Court had materially modified the trial court decree to the petitioner's prejudice, and no substantial question of law was involved.

Analysis: The right of appeal under Section 109(a) is controlled by the exceptions in Section 110, which must be strictly construed. The decisive question was whether the decree appealed from could be treated as one affirming the decision of the court immediately below. The Court held that a decree is not to be split into artificial parts merely because it results from findings on several items in an account suit. Unless the appellate decree entirely affirms the lower court's decision, it is not an affirming decree within Section 110. The Court also held that the amount in dispute on the proposed appeal included both the substantial reduction made by the High Court and the portion of the cross-objections dismissed, taking the total well above Rs. 10,000.

Conclusion: The petitioner was entitled to the certificate as of right. The High Court's decree did not affirm the trial court's decision, and the valuation condition in Section 110 was satisfied notwithstanding the absence of a substantial question of law.

Final Conclusion: Leave to appeal to His Majesty in Council was granted because the statutory conditions for the appeal were met and the appellate decree was not one of affirmance.

Ratio Decidendi: For the purpose of Section 110 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, a decree is an affirming decree only if it wholly affirms the decision of the court immediately below; it cannot be artificially divided into separate parts to defeat the right of appeal where the subject-matter in dispute exceeds the statutory limit.

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