Intra Court Appeal (ICA)

What is Appeal ?
• Sikandar Jahan vs. Ghulam Zainab, 2013 CLC 228

• Appeal is the continuation of original

proceedings and the appellate court is vested
with the power to re-hear and decide the
entire dispute between the parties.
 Intra Court Appeal – Introduction

• Appeal before the bench of two or more

judges of High Court against the Order of the
Single Judge
 Purpose of ICA

• To decrease the work burden of Supreme

Court
S. 3, Law Reforms Ordinance, 1972
• Appeal to High Court in certain Cases: - (1) An appeal shall lie to a
bench of two or more Judges of a High Court from a decree passed
or final order made by a single judge of that Court in the exercise of
its original civil jurisdiction.
• (2) An appeal shall also lie to a Bench of two or more judges of a
High Court from an order made by a Single Judge of that Court
under clause (1) of Article 199 of the Constitution of the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan not being an Order made under sub paragraph
(i) of paragraph (b) of that clause.
• (3) No Appeal shall lie under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) from
an interlocutory order or an order which does not dispose of the
entire case before the court.
• (4) ………………………………………
 S. 3(1), LRO
• (1) An appeal shall lie to a bench of two or
more Judges of a High Court from a decree
passed or final order made by a single judge of
that Court in the exercise of its original civil
jurisdiction.
 Original Civil Jurisdiction and
Constitutional Jurisdiction

• Power to hear a civil case for the first time

• Muzamil Sultan vs. FOP, PLD 2013 Lah 353

Constitutional Jurisdiction is granted under the
Constitution, while Original Civil Jurisdiction is
conferred by or under any statutory law.
 Cases upon S.3(1), LRO
• Sunrise Textile vs. Mashreq Bank, PLD 1996 Lah
1
Jurisdiction of Company Judge is original civil
jurisdiction conferred by statute and civil
jurisdiction is a jurisdiction which is in
contradistinction to criminal jurisdiction.

• 2001 YLR 1239

Interim Order passed in Constitutional Petition
had been assailed in intra-court appeal which was
not maintainable.
 Cases Continue …
• Waseem Ashraf vs. FOP, 2013 SCMR 33
“Right to file Intra-Court Appeal was not an
unqualified or absolute right. Under S. 3(1) of
Law Reforms Ordinance, 1972 an Intra-Court
Appeal lay only against a decree or a final order
of the single judge of the High Court and that too
if it was passed in the exercise of its ‘original civil
jurisdiction’.
 S. 3 (2), LRO
• An appeal shall also lie to a Bench of two or
more judges of a High Court from an order
made by a Single Judge of that Court under
clause (1) of Article 199 of the Constitution of
the Islamic Republic of Pakistan not being an
Order made under sub paragraph (i) of
paragraph (b) of that clause.
 Art. 199(1)(b)(i)

• Art. 199(1)(b)(i) has specifically been excluded

from the purview of the S. 3 LRO
 Cases upon S. 3(2), LRO
• PLD 2003 SC 325
Order impugned in the Constitutional petition
having not arisen out of the proceedings in
which law applicable after repeal of
settlement laws provided no remedy of
appeal, revision, bar of ICA contained in S(2)
LRO would not be applicable.
 Proviso of S. 2, LRO
• Provided that the Appeal referred to in this
subsection shall not be available or competent
if the application brought before the High
Court under Article 199 arises out of any
proceedings in which the law applicable,
provided for at least one appeal or one
revision or one review to any court, tribunal or
authority against the original order.
 Cases Upon Proviso
• M. Aslam Sukhera vs. Collector Land
Acquisition, PLD 2005 SC 45
Bar under proviso to S.3(2) of Law Reforms
Ordinance, 1972, to the remedy of ICA is in
those cases in which the relevant law provides
the remedy by way of appeal, revision or
review.
 Cases upon Proviso Cont…

• Thatta Cement vs. Registrar Trade Unions, 2012 PLC (CS)

53
Order under appeal was passed in Constitutional Petition
under Art.199 of the Constitution, which had arisen out of
the proceedings commenced before Registrar, trade unions
on application of respondent trade union and order for
grant of such certificate of registration of trade union,
issued by Registrar in favour of respondent trade union was
an original order passed in such proceedings, in which right
of appeal was provided under S.9(5) of Industrial Relations
Ordinance, 2002
 S.3(3) LRO

• (3) No Appeal shall lie under sub-section (1) or

sub-section (2) from an interlocutory order or
an order which does not dispose of the entire
case before the court.
 Cases upon S.3(3)

• Abdul Majeed vs. FOP, PLD 2012 Lah 112

No appeal would lie from an interlocutory
order or an order which did not dispose of the
entire case before the court
Maintainability of ICA U/S. 3, LRO

• Against Decree or Final Order of Single Judge

of High Court in Civil Original Jurisdiction

• Order passed under Art. 199 of the

Constitution
 Exclusions

• Order passed by Single Judge but not in Civil

Original Jurisdiction
• Where the Order assailed is not the final order
• Order passed under Art.199(1)(b)(i)
• Where a remedy against the Original Order is
provided before Writ
• Interlocutory Orders
 Limitation Period to file ICA
• Within 20 days of decree or final order - Art. 151,
Limitation Act
• The Time consumed in obtaining certified copy to
be excluded in computation of limitation period.
• National Bank vs. Khalid Javed Qureshi, PLD
2013 Lah 269
The time consumed in obtaining certified copies
was condoned, even attaching certified copy is
not mandatory in ICA.
 Who is Competent to Hear
• Under S. 3(1) of LRO
A Bench of Two or more Judges of the High
Court
• Waseem Ashraf vs. FOP, 2013 SCMR 338
ICA was heard by the single judge of ISB High
Court due to non-availability of judges during
summer vacations. SC set aside the order
passed in ICA
 Ambit of ICA
• 2004 CLC 1104
Scope of Intra-court Appeal was not similar to
appeal filed from a subordinate court to the
higher court as provided under CPC. Ambit of
appeal u/s 3, LRO was like a review petition
under O. XLVII, R.1 CPC and meant to correct
errors apparent on the face of record.
 Ambit of ICA Cont…
• 2004 MLD 1615
ICA can be filed when the impugned judgment
of the single judge is shown to have been
delivered against the provisions of law or is
the result of misreading, non-reading or same
has caused miscarriage of justice
 Grounds of ICA

• ICA has to contain all those grounds on which

the order of the single judge has been assailed
alongwith the Final Order of the single judge.
 No New Plea to be Raised in ICA

• PPSC vs. Aysha Nawaz, 2011 PLC (CS) 1284

Plea not raised in Constituional Petition cannot
be raised in ICA
• PLD 2002 Lah 28
When a person has not pleaded something and
has not built up his case on the specific assertion
he is precluded from taking such a plea before
the Appellate forum.
 Subsequent Events

• 2004 CLC 1723

Court had ample jurisdiction to look into the
subsequent events at the time of deciding the
case