The High Court bench is bound by the judgment of a coordinate bench, as emphasized by the Supreme Court, underscoring the significance of ‘judicial discipline

Case: MARY PUSHPAM vs. TELVI CURUSUMARY AND ORS.

Coram: Vikram Nath and Rajesh Bindal

Case No.: CIVIL APPEAL NO.9941 OF 2016

Court Observation: “The rule of ‘Judicial Discipline and Propriety’ and the Doctrine of precedents has a merit of promoting certainty and consistency in judicial decisions providing assurance to individuals as to the consequences of their actions.”

“Accordingly, when a decision of a coordinate Bench of same High court is brought to the notice of the bench, it is to be respected and is binding subject to right of the bench of such co-equal quorum to take a different view and refer the question to a larger bench. It is the only course of action open to a bench of co-equal strength, when faced with the previous decision taken by a bench with same strength.”

“Following the principles of judicial discipline, lower or subordinate Courts do not have the authority to contradict the decisions of higher Courts. In the current case, the Trial Court and the High Court, in the second round of litigation, violated this judicial discipline by adopting a position contrary to the High Court’s final judgment dated 30.03.1990, from the first round of litigation.,”

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Keywords

The High Court bench is bound by the judgment