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Section 100: Second appeal

Code of Civil Procedure • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1908
Section 99 All 158 Sections of Code of Civil Procedure Section 101
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Decree Sec 2(2)

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 100

Section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 governs second appeals to the High Court, strictly limiting appellate jurisdiction to cases involving a 'substantial question of law'.

  • Appellate Remedies & Forum: Substituted by the 1976 Amendment, Section 100(1) commands: 'Save as otherwise provided in the body of this Code or by any other law for the time being in force, an appeal shall lie to the High Court from every decree passed in appeal by any Court subordinate to the High Court, if the High Court is satisfied that the case involves a substantial question of law.
  • Judicial Review & Forum: Under sub-section (3), the memorandum of appeal must precisely state the substantial question of law involved.

Section 100 strictly confines the second appellate jurisdiction of the High Court to substantial questions of law, preserving trial and first appellate findings on pure questions of fact.

Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Chunilal V. Mehta & Sons Ltd. v. Century Spg. & Mfg. Co. Ltd., AIR 1962 SC 1314: The 5-Judge Constitution Bench laid down the definitive test: a substantial question of law is one that is debatable, not previously settled by precedent, and materially affects the rights of the parties; it is not a question of pure fact or settled legal principle.
  • Santosh Hazari v. Purushottam Tiwari, (2001) 3 SCC 179: The Supreme Court held that the formulation of a substantial question of law is a condition precedent to hearing a second appeal under Section 100; a judgment rendered without formulating questions is a jurisdictional nullity.
  • Nazir Mohamed v. J. Joseph, (2020) 19 SCC 269: The Supreme Court reiterated that the High Court cannot convert a second appeal into a third trial on facts; interference is permissible only where courts below misread material evidence or acted on inadmissible evidence.
Legal Commentary:

Section 100 is one of the most rigorously policed appellate gateways. A second appeal cannot be admitted on general grievances or misappreciation of oral testimony. Counsel must frame crisp, formulated questions of law demonstrating either perversity, misconstruction of title documents, or departure from binding Supreme Court precedents.

Section 99 All 158 Sections of Code of Civil Procedure Section 101