Res Sub Judice || Stay of civil suit || Section 10 of CPC ||
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Res Sub Judice || Stay of civil suit || under Section 10 of CPC ||
In this article, we will discuss the doctrine of res sub judice under section 10 of CPC. We intend to discuss like; What is res sub judice or stay of civil suits? What are the conditions of res sub judice? What is the object? etc. Let’s begin.
Introduction:-
Section 10 of CPC deals with the res sub judice or stay of the suit. It says that no court should 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 the court before which the previously instituted suit is pending in court competent to grant the relief sought.]
Meaning of res sub-judice:-
Res Sub-judice is Latin term which means res means a thing, sub-judice means ‘under judgment’. It means that a matter or case pending for consideration by court or judge. Here, section 10 says that when two or more cases are filed between the same parties on the same subject matter, the competent court has power to stay the subsequent proceeding and that is the res sub-judice or stay of the suit.
Object of Res Sub-Judice:-
The object of the section is to prevent a court of concurrent jurisdiction from simultaneously trying two parallel suits in respect of the same matter in issue and intended to protect a person from the multiplicity of suits and to avoid a conflict of decisions.
Conditions for res sub-judice:-
1. Two suit – one previously instituted and the other subsequently instituted
2. Matter in issue – matter in issue in the subsequent suit must be directly and substantially in issue in the previous suit.
3. Same parties – both the suit must be between the same parties or their representatives
4. Competency of the court – the court dealing with a previously instituted suit must competent to grant to the relief claimed in a subsequent suit
5. Same title – such parties must be litigating under the same title in the both the suit
Let’s understand with an example:-
A wife filed a suit for separation of conjugal life and custody of a minor child against husband B. subsequently, husband B claimed custody of a minor child by filing another suit against the wife A. Here the second suit is liable to stay under section 10 of CPC, because in both the suit the parties are same, the subject matter is also the same, the court is also competent to try the suits and there is also a previously instituted suit that is pending in the court.
Consolidation of suits:-
As per section 10 of CPC, the main objective is to avoid two conflicting decisions, a court in an appropriate case can pass an order to the consolidation of both the suits.
Inherent power to stay:-
A civil court has inherent power to stay a suit under section 151, even where the provisions of sec.10 of the Code do not strictly apply, to achieve the ends of justice. Similarly, a court has an inherent power of consolidation of two suits where res sub-judice applies.
Conclusion:-
The doctrine of Res Sub Judice provides as a stay on suit consisting of the same subject matter in the issue being parallel instituted in two separate competent Courts. And the objectives behind this doctrine are, avoiding conflicting decisions and findings and avoiding wastage of court resources and time.
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