Explain the principles of the doctrine of Res judicata. Is Section 11 C.P.C. exhaustive in this matter?  

Question: Explain the principles of the doctrine of Res judicata. Is Section 11 C.P.C. exhaustive in this matter?

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Answer

Res judicata is a plea prescribed under section 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure. It is a doctrine applied to give finality to a lis in original or appellate proceedings. The doctrine in substance means that an issue or a point decided and having attained finality, should not be allowed to be re-opened and re-agitated over again.

The doctrine of res judicata is founded on the principles of equity, justice, and good conscience. The doctrine applies to all civil and criminal proceedings and equally to all quasi-judicial proceedings before tribunals.

Section 11 of the Code is applicable to both the parties to a suit and not against the defendant alone. The principle of res judicata is furtherance against the court and is a mixed question of the fact and law and has to be specifically pleaded.

Is Section 11 Exhaustive in this Matter?

It is well established that the doctrine of res-judicata codified in S. 11 C.P.C. is not exhaustive. Section 11 applies only to civil suits. But apart from the letter of the law, the doctrine has been extended and applied for long in various other kinds of proceedings and situations by courts in England, India, and other countries.

In Lal Chand v. Radha Kishan, 1977 SCR (2) 522 Chandrachud, J. (as he then was) observed “The fact that Section 11 of Code of Civil Procedure cannot apply on its terms, the earlier proceeding before the competent authority not being a suit, is no answer to the extension of the principle underlying that section to the instant case Section 11, it is long since settled, is not exhaustive and the principle which motivates that section can be extended to cases which do not fall strictly within the letter of the law.

The principle of res-judicata is conceived in the larger public interest which requires that all litigation must, sooner than later, come to an end”.

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