Section 104 — Orders from which appeal lies
Most orders cannot be appealed. § 104 gives a closed list: an appeal lies from the orders it names — and from no other orders. The live items are an order under § 35A (ff), one refusing leave under § 91/§ 92 (ffa), an order under § 95 (g), an order imposing a fine or arrest (h), and an order under rules where the rules allow an appeal (i). And no appeal lies from an order passed in appeal (2).
How to read Section 104
A closed list (1)
An appeal lies from the orders named in § 104 (and any allowed by another law) — and “from no other orders”. Orders not on the list are simply not appealable.
What is on the list
(ff) § 35A costs · (ffa) refusal of leave under § 91/92 · (g) § 95 · (h) fine / arrest (not in execution) · (i) orders under rules that allow an appeal. Old (a)–(f) were omitted in 1940.
No appeal-from-an-appeal (2)
No appeal lies from an order passed in appeal under this section — the appellate order on such an order is final.
The bare Act
(1) An appeal shall lie from the following orders, and save as otherwise expressly provided in the body of this Code or by any law for the time being in force, from no other orders:—
→ The full catalogue of appealable orders is Order XLIII, r. 1 (clause (i) routes to it); contrast appeals from decrees (§ 96 / § 100).
(2) No appeal shall lie from any order passed in appeal under this section.
1. Clauses (a) to (f) were omitted by Act 10 of 1940, s. 49 and the Third Schedule. 2. Clause (ff) and its proviso were inserted by Act 9 of 1922, s. 3 (see also the foot-note to § 35A). 3. Clause (ffa) was inserted by Act 104 of 1976, s. 41 (w.e.f. 1-2-1977).
Key terms decoded
A formal expression of a decision that is not a decree (§ 2(14)). Orders are appealable only where a law expressly allows it — § 104 is that gate.
A closed-list formula: appeals lie only from the listed orders (and any allowed elsewhere). Every other order is non-appealable (though its error can be raised under § 105 in the decree appeal).
An order awarding compensatory costs for a false or vexatious claim or defence. Appealable — but the proviso limits the grounds.
An order refusing leave to sue in a public nuisance (§ 91) or public charity (§ 92) matter. (Inserted 1976.)
An order on compensation for an arrest, attachment or injunction obtained on insufficient grounds.
An order imposing a fine, or directing arrest or civil-prison detention — except where the arrest/detention is in execution of a decree.
Any order made under the Rules from which an appeal is expressly allowed by rules — the gateway into Order XLIII, r. 1’s long list.
A (ff) order (§ 35A) may be appealed only on the ground that no order, or an order for a lesser amount, ought to have been made.
Once an order under this section is decided in appeal, that appellate order is final — no further appeal under § 104.
The picture — the closed list of appealable orders
§ 104 is a gate with a fixed guest-list: only the named orders may be appealed, and the statute slams it shut on the rest — “from no other orders”. The long working list lives in Order XLIII, r. 1, reached through clause (i); and once such an order is decided in appeal, sub-section (2) makes that the end.
Section 104, part by part
Sub-section (1) — a closed list: an appeal lies from the named orders — (ff), (ffa), (g), (h), (i) — and from no other orders. The proviso narrows the (ff) appeal.
Sub-section (2) — one bite only: no appeal lies from an order that was itself passed in appeal under § 104. The appellate order is final.
How the parts work as one body
A fixed guest-list, one bite, and a working catalogue
Connected provisions
Section 104 opens appeals from orders (§§ 104–106) — distinct from appeals from decrees (§ 96 / § 100). Its working list is Order XLIII, r. 1; § 105 lets the error in a non-appealable order be raised in the appeal from the decree; and § 106 fixes which court hears these appeals.