UNION OF INDIA Vs. HARBANS SINGH TULI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Hon'ble Supreme Court of India vide its order dated 12.8.1997 disposed of Special Leave Petitions No. 18521, 18522, 18897 and 18898, all of 1996. The order reads as under :-

(2.) AS some controversy was raised before us by the learned counsel appearing for the Union of India and the petitioner appearing in person in regard to the scope of the order of the Apex Court dated 12.8.1997, we consider it imperative to explain what we understand of the said order. The direction contained in the order of the Hon'ble Apex Court requires the High Court to hear the objections raised before the Supreme Court and not to be bound by any previous order passed in this case by any other Bench of the High Court. The expression "in this case" obviously means the cases/applications, before the High Court which had resulted in filing of the afore-stated Special Leave Petitions before the Supreme Court. Certainly the expression "this case" appearing in the order does not mean, the order passed by the Court of competent jurisdiction including the High Court and the Supreme Court in other connected cases, inter se parties which have already attained finality. There are orders of the trial Court which have been accepted and acted upon by the parties for years now and we do not think their Lordships of the Supreme Court intended to unsettle the settled or determined rights except the orders which were subject matters of above mentioned four Special Leave Petitions before the Supreme Court. At best, this Bench is not to be influenced by the orders passed by the High Court or the Subordinate Courts at different stages or final stage of the cases which gave rise to the said four special leave petitions. Thus, we are not in a position to accept the contention of the learned counsel for Union of India that all orders passed by any Court including the Supreme Court in the earlier proceedings between the parties are to be over-looked.

(3.) BEFORE we proceed to discuss the rival contentions raised by learned counsel for the parties appearing before us, reference to some basic facts would be necessary.