Res Sub Judice

 Res Sub Judice

Section 10 of Code deals with doctrine of res sub judice. 'Res' means a thing or a matter and 'sub judice' means under consideration or pending adjudication. It provides that no court shall proceed with the trial of any suit in which the matter in issue is also directly and substantially in issue in a previously instituted suit between the same parties and that the court in which the previous suit is pending is competent to grant the relief claimed.

Object: Section 10 lays down the rule of res sub judice which prevents the court of concurrent jurisdiction from simultaneously adjudicating upon two parallel litigations in respect of same matter between the same parties. Thus, Section 10 is enacted keeping in mind following objectives:

1. To protect a person from multiplicity of proceedings.

2. To avoid a conflict of decisions by the court of concurrent jurisdiction.

3. To avert the inconvenience to the parties and give effect to the rule of res-judicata

Conditions: For the application of this Section, the following conditions must be fulfilled:

(1) There must be two suits, one previously instituted and the other subsequently instituted.

(2) The matter in issue in both suits must be directly and substantially the same.

(3) Both the suits must be between the same parties or their representatives.

(4) The parties must be litigating under the same title in both the suits.

(5) The Court in which the previous suit is pending must have jurisdiction to grant the relief claimed in the subsequent suit.

(6) The previously instituted suit must be pending in any of the following Courts-

• (a) In the same court in which the subsequent suit is brought, or
• (b) Any other court in India; or
• (c) Any court beyond the limits of India, but established by the Central Government, or
• (d) Before the Supreme Court of India.

The provision of Section 10 is mandatory. As soon as the essential elements are fulfilled the court cannot proceed with the suit. A previously instituted suit is a suit instituted first in point of time.

Suit pending in foreign court: Explanation to Section 10 clarifies that there is no bar on the power of Indian Court to try a subsequent suit if the previously instituted suit is pending in foreign court.

Inherent power to stay: Even where the provisions of Section 10 do not strictly apply, a civil court has inherent power under Section 151 to stay a suit to achieve the ends of justice [P.V. Shetty v. B.S. Girdhar, AIR 1982 SC 83]. 

Applicability to interim orders: In Indian Bank v. Maharashtra State Coop. Marketing Federation, (1998) 5 SCC 69 court held that Section 10 does not bar institution of suits, but it bars trial of the suit. Since this rule applies to the trial of the suit and not the institution it does not preclude the courts from passing interim orders such as grant of injunction, appointment of receiver etc. 

Doctrine of res-sub judice is not applicable in the following instances:-

1. Suits pending in foreign court: If the previous suit is instituted in a foreign court then it will not bar Indian courts from trying subsequently instituted suit. Foreign court is defined in Section 2(5) of the Code. It means court situated outside India and not established by the authority of the Central Government.

2. Interim orders

3. Summary suits: In Indian Bank v. Maharashtra State Coop. Marketing Federation, (1998) 5 SCC 69 Supreme Court held that Section 10 is applicable to regular suits and not summary suits under Order 37 of the Code.