About Doctrine of Constructive Res Judicata:
- The concept of res judicata has evolved from the English Common Law System.
- Res judicata literally means ‘the thing has been judged”. It is also known as claim preclusion.
- The principle of res judicata applies when a litigant attempts to file a subsequent lawsuit on the same matter after having received a judgment in a previous case involving the same parties.
- It means that the issue before the court has already been decided by another court, between the same parties, and the courts do not allow a petition to be filed in the same court or in another court.
- Therefore, the court will dismiss the case before it.
- Res Judicata as a concept is applicable both in Civil as well as Criminal legal system.
- Res judicata under Indian law has been embodied under Section 11 of the CPC (Code of Civil Procedure), 1908.
- Constructive Res Judicata is an extension of the principle of Res Judicata.
- It applies to matters that could have been raised in a previous suit but were not.
- This doctrine prevents a party from bringing a second suit on issues arising from the same set of facts, provided the party had a fair opportunity to raise the new issue in the first suit.
- The principle finds its origin in Order II Rule 2 read with Section 11 of the CPC, specifically Explanation IV of Section 11.
- Explanation IV provides that "any matter which might or ought to have been made ground of defence or attack in a former suit shall be deemed to have been a matter directly and substantially in issue in such suit".
- Certain conditions must be met to invoke the principle of constructive res judicata:
- Firstly, the parties involved in both proceedings must be the same.
- Secondly, the subject matter of the subsequent proceeding should be identical to that of the earlier proceeding.
- Thirdly, the issue raised in the subsequent proceeding should have been directly and substantially in issue in the earlier proceeding.
- Lastly, the earlier proceeding must have resulted in a final decision on the merits.
- This doctrine aims to promote judicial efficiency and fairness by ensuring that all relevant issues are addressed at the appropriate time, thereby avoiding repetitive litigation over the same matters.
