A remand authority must record evidence and decide the matter on its merits.

The Land Tribunal, Kunigal, had granted occupancy rights to the petitioners.

That order was challenged in L.R.R.P. Nos. 3335–3343 of 1990, and the High Court remanded the matter to the authorities for further consideration on 29 September 1999.

During the subsequent proceedings, the grantees sought to lead evidence, as recorded in the order sheet dated 25 March 2015; however, no evidence was recorded.

The Special Deputy Commissioner’s order dated 8 October 2021 did not contain findings based on fresh oral or documentary evidence.

The petitioners challenged that order under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution.

1. Whether the Special Deputy Commissioner’s order could stand when no evidence had been recorded from the parties and the order contained no findings based on such evidence.

2. Whether the matter should be remanded for a decision on the merits after giving the parties a reasonable opportunity to adduce evidence.

The Court exercised its jurisdiction under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution to review the impugned order.

It applied the procedural requirement that, where a matter is to be decided on its merits, the parties must be afforded a reasonable opportunity to present evidence and the authority must decide the matter in accordance with law on the material before it.

The judgment cited no statute or precedent as the basis for this rule.

The Court noted that the grantees had sought to lead evidence, but the authorities had not recorded any evidence.

The impugned order also lacked findings based on fresh oral or documentary evidence.

In those circumstances, the Court held that the order could not stand and that the matter required reconsideration after the parties were given a reasonable opportunity to adduce evidence.

The matter was remanded to respondent No. 1 for a decision on the merits after recording the parties’ evidence and affording them a reasonable opportunity to be heard.

The parties were directed to appear before the Deputy Commissioner, Tumakuru, on 28 October 2026 at 3:00 p.m.; all contentions were kept open.