Additional evidence in first appeal must be decided before final disposal, or remand may follow.

An appellate court must decide a pending application for additional evidence under Order XLI Rule 27 CPC before finally disposing of a first appeal. Where the documents are asserted to be material and the explanation for their late production is said to be satisfactory, the application cannot be ignored while the appeal is heard. Failure to consider it denies meaningful appellate scrutiny and may cause miscarriage of justice. The High Court's disposal of the appeal without first dealing with the application was held erroneous, and the matter was remitted for fresh disposal in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether the High Court could dismiss the first appeal without deciding the application for additional evidence under Order XLI Rule 27 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and whether the matter required remand for fresh consideration.

Analysis: Section 107 of the Code of Civil Procedure read with Order XLI Rule 27 enables the appellate court to permit additional evidence in appropriate cases, subject to the prescribed conditions and the court's discretion. An application for additional evidence cannot be ignored while disposing of the appeal, particularly where the documents are claimed to be vital and the explanation for their production is asserted to be satisfactory. Dismissing the main appeal without first deciding such an application deprives the appellant of a meaningful appellate consideration and may result in miscarriage of justice.

Conclusion: The High Court erred in disposing of the appeal without considering the application for additional evidence. The impugned judgment was set aside and the matter was remitted to the High Court for fresh disposal in accordance with law.

Final Conclusion: The appellant obtained a partial substantive relief by securing remand of the first appeal for reconsideration after due decision on the application for additional evidence.

Ratio Decidendi: An appellate court cannot finally dispose of a first appeal while ignoring a pending, material application for additional evidence under Order XLI Rule 27 of the Code of Civil Procedure; such application must be decided in accordance with law before final disposal of the appeal.

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