Published on: 06 September 2023 at 11:58 IST
Court: Supreme Court of India
Citation: Experion Developers (P) Ltd. v. Himanshu Dewan (2023)
Honourable Supreme Court of India has held that Doctrine of Merger is when the decree and order of the inferior court, tribunal or authority gets merged into the order passed by the Superior Court. It is held that if the Superior Court disposes the dispute by either by affirming the decree or order, by setting aside or modifying the same, then it is the decree of the Superior Court is the final binding and operative decree.
32. The dismissal of the appeal in the case of Pawan Gupta (supra) without any reasons being recorded would not attract Article 141 of the Constitution of India as no law was declared by the Supreme Court, which will have a binding effect on all courts and tribunals in India.
There is a clear distinction between the binding law of precedents in terms of Article 141 of the Constitution of India and the doctrine of merger and res judicata. To merge, as held in Kunhayammed (supra), and Khoday Distilleries Ltd. (supra) means to sink or disappear in something else, to become absorbed or extinguished. The logic behind the doctrine of merger is that there cannot be more than one decree or operative orders governing the same subject matter at a given point of time.
When a decree or order passed by an inferior court, tribunal or authority is subjected to a remedy available under law before a superior forum, then the decree or order under challenge continues to be effective and binding; nevertheless, its finality is put in jeopardy. Once the superior court disposes the dispute before it in any manner, either by affirming the decree or order, by setting aside or modifying the same, it is the decree of the superior court, tribunal or authority, which is the final binding and operative decree.
The decree and order of the inferior court, tribunal or authority gets merged into the order passed by the superior forum. However, as has been clarified in both decisions, this doctrine is not of universal or unlimited application. The nature of jurisdiction exercised by the superior court and the content or subject matter of challenge laid or could have been laid will have to be kept in view.
Drafted By Abhijit Mishra
