M. RAMNARAIN PRIVATE LTD. AND ANR. vs STATE TRADING CORPORATION OF INDIA LTD.

The Supreme Court held that the filing of an appeal without a decree is invalid under Order 41, Rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure. It clarified that the right to appeal is a statutory creation and may be lost by the conduct of the appellant, but a mistaken legal advice does not extinguish this right. The Court ruled that the earlier appeal against the order regarding instalments did not affect the appellant's right to file a subsequent appeal against the decree on merits, thus allowing the appeal to proceed.