Statutory reference orders are consultative, not final judgments, so they cannot support a Letters Patent appeal.

An order of the High Court made in a statutory reference under the Bihar Sales Tax Act, where the court only determines the question of law and returns its opinion to the Board of Revenue, is consultative rather than original or appellate. Because such an order does not itself finally determine the parties' rights, it is not a final judgment, decree, or order for Letters Patent purposes. On that basis, no appeal lay to the Supreme Court from the High Court's refusal to require a case to be stated, and the appeal was incompetent.

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Issues: Whether an appeal lay to the Supreme Court from the High Court's order refusing to require the Board of Revenue to state a case under the Bihar Sales Tax Act, and whether that order was a final judgment or order passed in the exercise of original or appellate jurisdiction within the meaning of the Letters Patent.

Analysis: The High Court's function under the reference provision was only to determine the question of law and send its judgment to the Board of Revenue for disposal of the case accordingly. Such an order did not by itself bind the parties or finally determine their rights, because the effective and operative decision remained that of the Board. The jurisdiction exercised by the High Court was therefore consultative and not original or appellate. Since the order lacked the character of a final judgment, decree, or order under the Letters Patent, the foundation for the appeal was absent.

Conclusion: The appeal was incompetent and had to be dismissed.

Ratio Decidendi: An order passed by the High Court in a statutory reference procedure that is merely consultative and does not itself finally determine the parties' rights is not a final order and cannot support an appeal under a Letters Patent provision confined to final judgments, decrees, or orders in original or appellate jurisdiction.

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