STARE DECISIS:
It means to
stand by the things decided. Stare decisis is the legal principle by which
judges are obliged to respect the precedents established by prior decisions. In
other words, once a point of law has been decided in a particular case, the
same might be applied in all future cases which contain same material facts. This
concept is originated from England and it has been accepted under the Indian
law.
In words of Jowitt: ’’stare decisis means to abide by former precedents where the same
points come again in litigation, as well as to keep the scale of justice even
and steady and not liable to waver with every judges opinion……’’
The doctrine
of stare decisis enables a judge to utilize the wisdom of his predecessors, it
sustains uniformity of application of law of similar cases and it makes the law
predictable.
POSITION IN BRITAIN:
The House of
Lords has since 1966 asserted that in exceptional cases it will refuse to
follow its own precedent.
POSITION IN INDIA:
In the case of:
Bengal Immunity Co. Ltd. vs. State of
Bihar &others(1955):
An important
preliminary question came before the court for the very first time whether the
court was bound by its previous decision or was free to depart from it. The
Supreme Court came to a conclusion that therein is nothing in the constitution
which prevents the Supreme Court from departing from a previous decision if the
court is convinced of its error and its baneful effect.
Further, the
Supreme Court in 1980 through Justice
Bhagwati in Minerva Mills
case reiterated that ‘’the
doctrine of stare decisis should not be regarded as a rigid and inevitable
doctrine which must be applied at the cost of justice .There may be cases where
it may be necessary to rid the doctrine of its petrifying rigidity.’’
This view
finds support in the following cases:
D.S Narakara vs.Union of India(1983)
Randhir Siongh vs.Union
of India(1982)
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