AI Structured Summary
Facts, law points, precedents, ratio and the final ruling — distilled from the full judgment
AI Structured Summary
Facts, law points, precedents, ratio and the final ruling — distilled from the full judgment
Facts
Leave was granted in Civil Appeal No. 2769 of 2009 (@ SLP (C) No. 15019/2008). The appeal was filed against the interim order dated 24.4.2004 passed by the High Court of Allahabad in Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 40656 of 2007. Counsel for the appellants submitted that the High Court had subsequently passed a final judgment on 25.8.2008 in the writ petition. The Court noted that once a final order is passed, all earlier interim orders merge into the final order and cease to exist. Since the final order had been passed by the High Court in the same writ petition, the interim order dated 24.4.2004 and any direction therein ceased to exist. The appeal was held to have become infructuous and was dismissed. The Contempt Petition (C) No. 164 of 008 in SLP(C) 15019/2006 was also dismissed in view of that decision.
Law Points
Whether the appeal against an interim order survives after the High Court has passed a final judgment in the same writ petition, and what is the effect of the final order on earlier interim orders and directions contained therein.
Acts & Articles
Not discussed in this judgment.
Judgments Referred
Not discussed in this judgment.
Obiter Dicta
Not discussed in this judgment.
Ratio Decidendi
Once a final order is passed, all earlier interim orders merge into the final order and the interim orders cease to exist. Accordingly, where a final order has been passed by the High Court in the same writ petition, the interim order and any direction given therein cease to exist automatically, and an appeal directed against such interim order becomes infructuous.
Final Ruling
The appeal was dismissed as infructuous. The impugned interim order dated 24.4.2004 and any direction therein ceased to exist in view of the final order passed by the High Court. The Contempt Petition was dismissed.
Plain-Language Gist
The appellants had appealed against an interim order of the High Court, but the High Court later delivered a final judgment in the same writ petition. Because a final judgment absorbs and replaces earlier interim orders, the interim order no longer exists, so the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal as having become pointless. The connected contempt petition was also dismissed.
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Judgment
Civil Appeal No. 2769 of 2009 (@ SLP (C) No. 15019/2008):
Leave granted.
This appeal has been filed against the interim order dated 24.4.2004 passed by the High Court of Allahabad in Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 40656 of -2007.
Mr. Vijay Hansaria, learned senior counsel appearing for the appellants submits that subsequently final judgment has been passed by the High Court on 25.8.2008 in the writ petition.
It is a well-settled principle that once a final order is passed, all earlier interim orders merge into the final order, and the interim orders cease to exist.
In this appeal, since the final order has been passed by the High Court, obviously all interim orders passed by the High court in the same writ petition, cease to exist automatically. Consequently, any direction given in the interim order dated 24.4.2004 also ceases to exist.
In view of the final order passed by the High Court, the impugned interim order and any direction therein have ceased to exist. The appeal has become infructuous and is, accordingly, dismissed.
Contempt Petition (C) No. 164 of 008 in SLP(C) 15019/2006:
In view of the aforesaid decision, Contempt Petition is dismissed.