LEGAL PRINCIPLE: CIVIL PROCEDURE – Judgment Writing – Duty of Appellate Court to Hear Parties Before Raising Issue Suo Motu

Appellate courts can raise issues on their own motion (suo motu) but must afford parties hearing before deciding such issues. “Suo motu” issues include: jurisdictional defects, fundamental legal errors, or matters affecting justice that parties haven’t raised. Fair hearing requires courts to: identify the issue, notify parties, allow submissions/arguments, and only then decide. This serves: procedural fairness (parties shouldn’t be surprised by unraised issues), informed decision-making (parties’ input aids court), and natural justice (affected parties have right to be heard). Courts cannot: raise issues and decide them without hearing parties, ambush parties with surprise grounds, or decide cases on bases parties had no opportunity to address. The procedure: court indicates intention to consider the issue, invites parties’ submissions (written or oral), considers submissions, then decides. This applies even to fundamental issues courts must address regardless of parties’ wishes. The principle balances: courts’ duty to decide cases correctly against parties’ rights to participate in issues affecting them. Hearing parties on suo motu issues enhances justice and prevents procedural unfairness