In short. A civil appeal asks a higher court to set aside or change a decree passed by a civil court. A first appeal under Section 96 CPC reopens both facts and law; a second appeal under Section 100 is allowed only on a substantial question of law. It is for any party who lost, or partly lost, a civil suit in Delhi. The limit is 90 days for an appeal to the High Court and 30 days to a district court. Filing an appeal does not stop the decree, so seek a stay at once and order certified copies today.
Is this your situation?
- A civil court in Delhi has decreed a suit against you for possession, money or an injunction.
- You won only part of what you claimed and want the rest.
- The trial court ignored your documents or misread the evidence.
- The other side has already filed for execution and you want the decree stayed.
- A District Judge has decided a first appeal against you and you think the law was wrongly applied.
- A decree was passed ex parte because you never received the summons.
- You won at trial, and the losing side has filed an appeal you need to answer.
First appeal and second appeal, in plain terms
A first appeal under Section 96 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 lies as of right against every decree passed by a civil court in its original jurisdiction, unless a statute bars it. It is a rehearing. The appeal court can look at the whole record, re-examine the oral and documentary evidence, and reach its own conclusions on facts as well as law. For a party who lost at trial, the first appeal is the last full look at the facts.
A second appeal under Section 100 lies to the High Court against a decree passed in first appeal by a subordinate court, but only if the case involves a substantial question of law. It is not a third round on facts. The High Court will not re-weigh evidence merely because another view was possible; it intervenes where the courts below misapplied the law, misread a document in a way that changed the result, ignored material evidence, or reached a finding no reasonable court could reach.
The difference shapes strategy from the first day after a trial decree. Every factual point that matters must be raised and argued in the first appeal, because there may be no later chance. Our guide on the difference between a first appeal and a second appeal sets out the distinction with more examples.
Which court hears your appeal in Delhi
The appeal court depends on who passed the decree. A decree of a Civil Judge in a Delhi district court, where suits of lower value are tried (at present up to Rs 3 lakh), goes in first appeal to the District Judge, who usually assigns it to an Additional District Judge in the same district. A decree passed by a District Judge or Additional District Judge in an original suit generally goes in first appeal to the Delhi High Court, where it is registered as a Regular First Appeal (RFA) and heard by a single judge.
A decree passed by a single judge on the High Court's own original side, in a suit valued above Rs 2 crore, goes in appeal to a Division Bench under Section 10 of the Delhi High Court Act 1966. A second appeal against a District Judge's decision in a first appeal goes to the High Court as a Regular Second Appeal (RSA). Once a single judge of the High Court decides a first or second appeal, Section 100A of the CPC bars any further appeal within the High Court, so a Letters Patent appeal is not available; our page on the Letters Patent appeal explains where that remedy does apply.
Some decrees follow special routes. Commercial suits go under Section 13 of the Commercial Courts Act 2015, covered on our commercial appeal page. Family court judgments go to a Division Bench under Section 19 of the Family Courts Act within 30 days, explained on our family court appeal page. Eviction orders under the summary procedure of Section 25B of the Delhi Rent Control Act are not appealable at all; the remedy is a revision to the High Court.
The provisions that govern civil appeals
Section 96, CPC
An appeal lies from every original decree. An appeal also lies from an ex parte decree. No appeal lies from a decree passed with the consent of parties. In small cases of the kind triable by a Court of Small Causes, valued up to Rs 10,000, an appeal lies only on a question of law.
Sections 100, 100A and 102, CPC
A second appeal lies to the High Court only if it involves a substantial question of law, which must be stated in the memorandum; the High Court frames the question at admission and the appeal is heard on it. No further appeal lies from a single judge's decision in a first or second appeal. No second appeal lies where the suit was for recovery of money not exceeding Rs 25,000.
Order 41, CPC
Rule 1 requires a memorandum of appeal with a copy of the judgment and, in a money decree, deposit of the amount or security as directed. Rule 3A requires an application for condonation where the appeal is late. Rule 5 says an appeal does not operate as a stay, but allows the court to stay execution on conditions. Rule 11 allows dismissal at admission. Rule 22 allows the respondent to file cross-objections. Rules 23 to 25 deal with remand, and Rule 27 with additional evidence.
Order 42, CPC
The rules of Order 41 apply to second appeals, so far as they can.
Section 104 and Order 43, CPC
Appeals against certain orders, such as orders granting or refusing temporary injunctions, appointing receivers, or returning plaints, lie under these provisions rather than Section 96.
Article 116 and Sections 5 and 12, Limitation Act 1963
An appeal under the CPC must be filed within 90 days to a High Court and 30 days to any other court, from the date of the decree. Time taken to obtain a certified copy of the decree and judgment is excluded. Delay can be condoned on sufficient cause.
Time limits: 90 days, 30 days, and how delay is handled
The clock starts on the date of the decree, not the date you learnt of it or the date you collected papers. For an appeal to the Delhi High Court, the limit is 90 days; for an appeal to a District Judge, it is 30 days. The time spent between applying for a certified copy of the judgment and decree and receiving it is excluded under Section 12 of the Limitation Act, but only if you applied within the limitation period. Apply for certified copies the week the decree is passed.
An appeal from a single judge of the High Court's original side to a Division Bench is subject to a shorter limit, generally 30 days. Parties used to the 90-day rule for first appeals have missed this, so check it carefully if your suit was decided on the original side.
Delay can be condoned under Section 5 of the Limitation Act if there was sufficient cause, such as illness, a change of lawyers handled with diligence, or a genuine failure to learn of the decree. The application must explain the whole period of delay, with documents. Courts in Delhi are more forgiving of a short delay explained honestly than of a long one with a vague explanation, and they look harder where the other side has already acted on the decree.
What a first appeal can achieve
Because the first appeal is a continuation of the suit, the appeal court has the same powers as the trial court. It can reverse findings of fact, reassess credibility, accept a document the trial court ignored, or reject one the trial court relied on. The Supreme Court in Santosh Hazari v. Purushottam Tiwari (2001) held that a first appellate court reversing the trial court must deal with its reasons and the evidence, and in B.V. Nagesh v. H.V. Sreenivasa Murthy (2010) it stressed that a first appeal is a valuable right and must be decided on both fact and law.
Where the trial court made a procedural mistake, for example deciding a suit on a preliminary point without trying other issues, or not framing an issue that was in dispute, the appeal court can remand the case under Order 41 Rules 23 to 25. Remand costs time, so appellate courts prefer to decide the matter themselves where the evidence on record allows.
Additional evidence is allowed only in narrow cases under Order 41 Rule 27: where the trial court wrongly refused to admit evidence, where a party could not produce it despite due diligence, or where the appeal court itself needs it to pronounce judgment. It is not a way to fill gaps a party left at trial. A respondent who wants to challenge part of a decree that went against him can file cross-objections within one month of service of the appeal notice under Order 41 Rule 22.
Second appeal: what counts as a substantial question of law
A second appeal stands or falls on the question of law. The Supreme Court in Hero Vinoth v. Seshammal (2006) explained that a question of law is substantial when it is debatable, not previously settled, or when a settled principle has been wrongly applied, and when it has a material bearing on the result. A question about how to read a document of title, whether a finding is based on no evidence, whether the burden of proof was placed on the wrong party, or whether a suit was barred by limitation can qualify.
The memorandum of appeal must state the substantial questions of law, and the High Court decides at the admission stage whether any arises. If none does, the appeal is dismissed at that stage. Many second appeals in Delhi end there, because they are really an attempt to argue the facts a third time. Where the High Court admits the appeal, it frames the questions, and the hearing is confined to them unless the court allows another question later for reasons recorded.
Concurrent findings of fact by two courts are rarely disturbed. They can be set aside only where they are perverse, based on inadmissible evidence, or reached by ignoring material evidence. When Advocate B.K. Singh is asked to file a second appeal, he first reads both judgments for a misreading of a document or a misplaced burden, because without one of those, a second appeal usually fails at admission.
Stopping execution while the appeal is pending
Filing an appeal does not stay the decree. Order 41 Rule 5 is explicit: unless the appeal court orders a stay, the decree-holder can execute it. Possession can be taken, money can be recovered and property can be attached while your appeal sits in the registry. A stay application should be filed with the appeal and pressed at the first hearing.
To get a stay, the appellant must show that substantial loss may result without it, that the application was made without unreasonable delay, and must offer security for the due performance of the decree. In money decrees, courts commonly require the decretal amount, or a large part of it, to be deposited or secured before staying execution. In decrees for possession, courts may stay dispossession on condition that the occupant pays use and occupation charges, along the lines the Supreme Court approved in Atma Ram Properties v. Federal Motors (2005).
If the decree-holder has already filed execution, you will need to appear there too, and produce the stay order once obtained. Our page on execution of decrees explains what the decree-holder can do and how an execution is resisted.
From decree to appeal hearing, step by step
Apply for certified copies
Apply the same week for certified copies of the judgment and decree. Note the date of the decree and the date you applied, because both affect limitation.
Review the record
We read the pleadings, issues, evidence and judgment to identify the findings that can be challenged and the grounds that carry weight. For a second appeal, we frame the substantial questions of law.
Draft the memorandum and stay application
The memorandum sets out concise grounds, without argument. A stay application under Order 41 Rule 5 and, if late, a condonation application are filed with it.
File and cure objections
The appeal is filed, in the High Court increasingly through e-filing, with court fee on the value of the relief challenged. The registry may raise objections, which must be cured within the time allowed. Our guide on Delhi High Court e-filing explains the mechanics.
Admission hearing
The court hears the appellant on whether the appeal should be admitted and whether a stay should be granted. In a second appeal, the substantial questions of law are framed or the appeal is dismissed. Notice goes to the respondent.
Trial court record and paper books
The court calls for the trial court record. Paper books or electronic compilations of the pleadings, evidence and judgments are prepared for the hearing.
Final hearing and judgment
Both sides argue on the record. The court may dismiss the appeal, allow it, modify the decree or remand the case. The judgment and the appellate decree replace the trial decree.
Official case status, orders and cause lists are on the Delhi High Court's own website; this is a private law firm website, not the court's.
Typical time and cost of a civil appeal in Delhi
| Stage | Typical time | Court fee and costs |
|---|---|---|
| Certified copies and review of record | 1 to 4 weeks | Copying fee for certified copies |
| Filing the appeal | Within 90 days (High Court) or 30 days (District Judge) from the decree | Court fee on the value of the subject matter in appeal, as in the suit; check the current rates |
| Admission and stay hearing | Weeks to a few months after filing | Deposit or security if the court makes it a condition of stay |
| First appeal before a District Judge, to judgment | 1 to 3 years | Paper book and process costs |
| Regular First Appeal in the High Court, to judgment | 2 to 6 years or more | Paper book and process costs |
| Regular Second Appeal, admission stage | Months to 2 years | Court fee on the memorandum |
| Admitted second appeal, to judgment | Several years | Paper book costs |
Documents to bring for an appeal
- Certified copy of the judgment and decree under appeal, or your application for it with the date
- Copies of the plaint, written statement and any replication
- The issues framed and the order sheets of the trial court
- Affidavits of evidence and transcripts of cross-examination of all witnesses
- All documents exhibited at trial, with exhibit numbers
- In a second appeal, the first appellate court's judgment and the trial court's judgment
- Any execution petition filed by the other side and notices received in it
- Proof of dates relevant to limitation, such as medical records or postal receipts if the appeal is late
Grounds that tend to work, and grounds that do not
Grounds that carry weight in a first appeal are concrete. The trial court ignored an exhibited document that decides title. It placed the burden of proof on the wrong party. It relied on a witness's statement that was withdrawn in cross-examination. It decided an issue nobody pleaded. It treated a suit as within limitation without considering the date of knowledge. Each ground should point to the page of the record where the mistake shows.
Grounds that rarely succeed are general. A memorandum saying the judgment is against the weight of evidence, or that the trial court failed to appreciate the facts, without identifying what was missed, does not help. Nor does a plea raised for the first time in appeal that was never pleaded in the written statement; appellate courts are reluctant to allow new factual pleas, though a pure question of law can sometimes be raised.
Objections to the trial court's territorial or pecuniary jurisdiction are a special case. Under Section 21 of the CPC and Section 11 of the Suits Valuation Act, such objections are not entertained in appeal unless they were raised at the earliest opportunity at trial and there has been a consequent failure of justice. A party who wanted to say the suit was filed in the wrong court should have said so in the written statement.
If you won at trial and the other side has appealed
A decree-holder should not wait for the appeal to be decided. You can file for execution straight away, because the decree is enforceable unless the appeal court stays it. If you expect an appeal, lodge a caveat in the appeal court under Section 148A CPC so that no stay is granted without hearing you; our guide on filing a caveat in the Delhi High Court explains the procedure.
At the stay hearing, press for conditions. In a money decree, ask for deposit of the decretal amount. In a decree for possession, ask for use and occupation charges at market rate if possession is to remain with the appellant. Courts in Delhi often attach such conditions, and an appellant who fails to comply can lose the stay.
If part of the decree went against you, decide within one month of service of the appeal notice whether to file cross-objections under Order 41 Rule 22. Without them, you can support the decree on grounds decided against you, but you generally cannot ask the appeal court to give you more than the trial court did.
Ex parte decrees: appeal, or set aside in the trial court
Where a decree was passed ex parte because you did not appear, you have two remedies. You can apply to the trial court under Order 9 Rule 13 CPC to set the decree aside, by showing that summons was not duly served or that you were prevented by sufficient cause from appearing. The limit for that application is 30 days from the decree or from when you learnt of it, if summons was not duly served. Or you can appeal against the ex parte decree under Section 96(2).
The choice matters. The Order 9 Rule 13 application is the right route where the problem is service, because the trial court can examine the process server and the record of service. An appeal is the better route where, even on the evidence the plaintiff led ex parte, the decree is wrong in law. The Supreme Court in Bhanu Kumar Jain v. Archana Kumar (2005) held both remedies are available, but an appellant who has lost an Order 9 Rule 13 application cannot reargue the same grounds of non-service in the appeal.
Where execution has already begun on an ex parte decree, seek a stay from whichever court you approach, and appear in the execution proceedings at once. Delay is the main reason applications to set aside ex parte decrees fail.
Mistakes that sink civil appeals
- Missing the deadline. Applying late for certified copies loses the benefit of Section 12, and a late appeal needs an honest, documented condonation application.
- Assuming the appeal stops the decree. It does not. Seek a stay at the first hearing and comply with any deposit condition.
- Treating a second appeal as a rehearing. Without a real substantial question of law, it will be dismissed at admission.
- Pleading new facts in appeal. Appeal courts decide on the record. Evidence you did not lead at trial is rarely admitted later.
- Ignoring the right forum. Commercial, family, rent and probate matters each have their own appellate route and time limit.
- Not reading the judgment closely. The best grounds often come from a finding the trial court made in passing, on a document it misread.
A made-up example: a shop in Karol Bagh and a decree for possession
Here's a made-up example. Suresh runs a garment shop in Karol Bagh. His landlord, whose premises are outside the Delhi Rent Control Act because the rent exceeds Rs 3,500 a month, files a suit for possession and mesne profits in the Tis Hazari district court. The Additional District Judge decrees the suit in July 2026, holding that the tenancy was validly terminated, and awards mesne profits at Rs 85,000 a month.
Suresh's lawyer applies for certified copies within a week and finds that the trial court relied on a termination notice the landlord's own witness admitted was sent to a wrong address. A Regular First Appeal is filed in the Delhi High Court within the 90-day period, with a stay application. The landlord has already filed for execution.
At the admission hearing, the High Court admits the appeal and stays dispossession on condition that Suresh deposits the arrears at the rate he was paying and pays a monthly sum towards use and occupation until the appeal is decided. Suresh complies. The appeal will now be heard on the record, and the question of the notice will be argued in full. If he loses, he cannot take a further appeal within the High Court; his remaining route would be the Supreme Court.
After the appeal, and how we handle civil appeals
Once a single judge of the High Court decides a first or second appeal, there is no further appeal within the High Court. The remaining options are a review under Order 47 CPC, which is limited to an error apparent on the record or new evidence, explained on our review petition page, and a special leave petition to the Supreme Court within 90 days, covered on our SLP page. Interim orders of trial courts that are not appealable can be challenged under Article 227 or civil revision.
Our approach to appeals starts with the record, not the client's account of what went wrong. We read the evidence, mark the findings that can be challenged, and tell clients plainly which grounds are strong and which are not. Advocate B.K. Singh's advice to clients who have just lost at trial is to spend the first week on two things only: certified copies and a stay plan, because limitation and execution wait for no one. Fees are discussed at the first meeting and agreed in writing, stage by stage.
If you have lost a civil suit, or are facing an appeal against a decree you won, contact Advocate B.K. Singh for advice on your papers or for updates on the law.
Frequently asked questions
What is the time limit to file a civil appeal in Delhi High Court?
Generally 90 days from the date of the decree under Article 116 of the Limitation Act, plus the time taken to obtain certified copies if you applied in time. An appeal to a District Judge must be filed within 30 days. An appeal from a single judge on the High Court's original side to a Division Bench has a shorter limit, generally 30 days.
Can I file a second appeal on facts?
No. A second appeal under Section 100 CPC lies only on a substantial question of law. The High Court will not reassess evidence unless the findings are perverse or based on a misreading of material evidence.
Does filing an appeal stop the other side from executing the decree?
No. Under Order 41 Rule 5, an appeal does not operate as a stay. You must apply for a stay, and the court may impose conditions such as depositing the decretal amount or paying use and occupation charges.
What is an RFA and an RSA in Delhi High Court?
RFA is a Regular First Appeal, filed against a decree of a District Judge or Additional District Judge in an original suit. RSA is a Regular Second Appeal, filed against a decision of a District Judge in a first appeal. RFA(OS) refers to an appeal against a decree of a single judge on the High Court's original side.
Can new evidence be filed in a civil appeal?
Only in limited cases under Order 41 Rule 27 CPC, for example where the trial court wrongly refused it or where it could not be produced despite due diligence. It is not allowed simply to fill gaps left at trial.
Is a Letters Patent appeal available after a single judge decides my first appeal?
No. Section 100A CPC bars any further appeal within the High Court once a single judge decides a first or second appeal. The remaining options are review or a special leave petition to the Supreme Court.
What court fee is payable on a civil appeal in Delhi?
Court fee on a memorandum of appeal is generally the same as on the plaint, calculated on the value of the relief challenged in appeal. Check the current rates and the valuation in your suit before filing.
What can I do if a decree was passed against me without my knowledge?
You can apply to the trial court under Order 9 Rule 13 CPC to set aside the ex parte decree, generally within 30 days of learning of it if summons was not duly served, or file an appeal under Section 96(2). The right choice depends on whether the problem is service or the merits.