What are Key Criteria for Filing a Civil Miscellaneous Appeal?

 A Civil Miscellaneous Appeal (CMA) is an appeal against specific interlocutory orders (not final decrees) passed by lower courts, primarily under Section 104 and Order 43, Rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC). Key criteria include challenging orders like temporary injunctions, appointment of receivers, or return of plaints, usually requiring a "substantial question of law" or serious procedural error. 

Key Criteria for Filing a Civil Miscellaneous Appeal

Appealable Orders: The order must be explicitly listed as appealable under Order 43, Rule 1 of the CPC or Section 104 (e.g., refusing to set aside an arbitration award, certain injunction orders).

• Finality of Interlocutory Decision: The order must affect the merits of the case or rights of parties, such as granting or refusing a temporary injunction, or attachment before judgment.
• Substantial Question of Law: Often, a CMA is entertained if there is a substantial question of law regarding the lower court’s procedure or interpretation of law.
• Aggrieved Person: The appellant must be a party to the suit who is adversely affected by the order.
• Limitation Period: The appeal must be filed within the prescribed limitation period (typically 30–90 days depending on the forum) from the date of the order.
• No Second Appeal: As per Section 104(2) of the CPC, no further appeal lies from an order passed in a CMA. 

Grounds for Appeal

• Procedural Impropriety: The lower court failed to follow mandatory procedural requirements.
• Error in Legal Principle: The court incorrectly applied legal principles (e.g., failing to consider the "three core principles" of temporary injunction: prima facie case, irreparable injury, and balance of convenience).
• Jurisdictional Error: The court exercised jurisdiction not vested in it or failed to exercise vested jurisdiction.

Limitations

• A CMA cannot be filed against an order if a revision application is already filed for the same, or vice versa, in some contexts.
• It is not a full re-trial of the suit on its merits, but rather a review of specific interim decisions. 

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