Court caseAIR 1961 SC 1457

Tenants who had been evicted during the 1947 disturbances and lost possession of their holdings in Uttar Pradesh petitioned the Allahabad High Court under Article 226. The High Court heard the matter and dismissed the petitions on the merits. The petitioners then filed fresh petitions in the Supreme Court under Article 32 seeking the same relief, contending that Article 32 is itself a fundamental right that cannot be defeated by any procedural rule such as res judicata.

The Court held that the rule of res judicata is founded on public policy: there must be finality to litigation and no one should be vexed twice for the same cause. That principle is not inconsistent with the guarantee of Article 32. Where a High Court has dismissed a writ petition on the merits after a contest, the judgment binds the parties and a petition under Article 32 on the same facts is barred. The bar does not apply where the petition was dismissed in limine without a speaking order, or on the ground of laches or the availability of an alternative remedy, because in those situations the merits were never decided.