Article 141 and Binding Judicial Precedent

Article 141 gives the law declared by the Supreme Court compulsory authority over every court within India. The binding element is primarily the ratio decidendi, meaning the legal principle necessary for deciding the issues before the Court, rather than every statement in the judgment.

Constitutional basis

Under Article 141, “the law declared by the Supreme Court shall be binding on all courts within the territory of India.” Under Article 145(5), a Supreme Court judgment requires the concurrence of a majority of the judges present at the hearing, while a judge may deliver a dissenting opinion.

What constitutes the binding law

The ratio decidendi is identified by reading the judgment as a whole, in light of its material facts, the questions decided and the reasons supporting the decision.

• A legal principle that was necessary to decide the case binds subordinate courts in subsequent cases presenting the same legal issue.
• Obiter dicta, meaning incidental observations unnecessary for the decision, are ordinarily persuasive rather than binding.
• A dissenting opinion and relief confined to the peculiar facts of a case do not constitute the binding ratio.

Operation of judicial precedent

Binding precedent promotes certainty, consistency and equality in the administration of law, while still permitting legal development.

• A lower court must follow the applicable Supreme Court ratio, although it may distinguish the precedent when the material facts or legal issue are different.
• Within the Supreme Court, a smaller bench follows a larger bench; a coordinate bench that disagrees normally refers the issue for consideration by a larger bench.
• The Supreme Court is not made unalterably bound by its own decisions under Article 141, but the principle of stare decisis requires departures to be reasoned and institutionally disciplined.
• The Supreme Court may review its judgment under Article 137, and an earlier precedent may be overruled by an appropriately constituted larger bench.