Henderson Doctrine : In News
The Supreme Court explained Henderson doctrine, a natural corollary of the Indian doctrine of constructive Res-judicata.
- Propounded in the English case of Henderson versus Henderson, 1843, the doctrine suggests that all the issues arising in the litigation out of the same subject matter must be addressed in a single suit.
- The doctrine bars relitigating issues that could or should have been raised in prior proceedings.
- It held that where a given matter becomes the subject of litigation and the adjudication of a court of competent jurisdiction, the parties so litigating are required to bring forward their whole case.
- It was further held that the principle of res judicata applies not only to points upon which the Court was called upon by the parties to adjudicate and pronounce a judgement but to every possible or probable point or issue that properly belonged to the subject of litigation and the parties ought to have brought forward at the time.
- It ensures that litigants are not subjected to repetitive and vexatious legal challenges.
- At its core, the principle stipulates that all claims and issues that could and should have been raised in an earlier proceeding are barred from being raised in subsequent litigation, except in exceptional circumstances.
- Res judicata literally means ‘the thing has been judged”.
- It is also known as claim preclusion.
