Doctrine of Stare Decisis

Stare decisis means that courts should follow legal principles settled in earlier decisions when materially similar questions arise. In India, the binding force of Supreme Court precedent principally follows from Article 141, under which the law declared by the Supreme Court binds all courts within India.

What part of a judgment is binding

The binding element is the ratio decidendi, namely the legal principle necessary for deciding the case in the context of its material facts. A judgment must therefore be read for the question actually decided rather than as if every sentence were a rule of law.

• Incidental observations, known as obiter dicta, are not binding, although observations of the Supreme Court carry persuasive authority.
• A court may distinguish a precedent when material facts or the legal issue differ, without denying the precedent's authority.

Bench strength and judicial discipline

Within the Supreme Court, a decision of a larger bench prevails over one delivered by a smaller bench. Judicial discipline requires a smaller bench to follow the larger bench, while a bench doubting a coordinate bench's ruling should refer the issue for consideration by a larger bench rather than overrule it itself.

• Under Article 145(3), a bench of at least five judges decides cases involving a substantial question of law concerning constitutional interpretation.
• All High Courts and subordinate courts must follow the law declared by the Supreme Court and cannot disregard it merely because they consider it erroneous.

Reconsideration and overruling

Stare decisis promotes certainty, consistency and equality in adjudication, but it is not an absolute bar against correcting legal error. The Supreme Court may reconsider and overrule its own precedent through an appropriately constituted bench, especially where the earlier rule is plainly erroneous, unworkable or inconsistent with constitutional principle.

• Under Article 137, the Supreme Court may review its judgments or orders subject to law and its procedural rules.
• Overruling removes the earlier legal rule's precedential authority; until then, the precedent continues to bind courts below.