In Brief
IL and FS Engineering sued for recovery of Rs. 47.9 lakhs against construction companies. The trial court decreed the suit. The defendants appealed and sought to implead A.P. Transco (the original contractor) as a party, arguing the work originated with A.P. Transco. The High Court allowed the impleadment application and automatically set aside the trial court's judgment without deciding the appeal on merits. The Supreme Court held that a First Appellate Court cannot quash a judgment merely because an impleadment application is allowed; it must first frame points for determination, decide whether impleadment is maintainable, and then decide the appeal on merits with proper reasoning. The appeal is allowed and remanded to the High Court.
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