In Brief
Two land disputes involving a shared passage were consolidated by the trial court and disposed through a common judgment with separate decrees. When the appellant filed a single first appeal, it also sought permission (via CLMA) to challenge both decrees jointly. The High Court admitted the appeal but later dismissed it as unmaintainable under res-judicata principles without deciding the CLMA. The Supreme Court held that the High Court erred by dismissing the appeal without first deciding the pending CLMA application. The Court emphasized that appellate courts must decide all issues with reasoned findings and cannot dismiss appeals on procedural grounds without affording appellants opportunity to cure defects. The appeal was allowed and remanded for the High Court to decide the CLMA before ruling on preliminary objections.
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