Holding

The two‑Judge Bench judgment of 23 March 1995 (as modified on 26 July 1996) is in direct conflict with the earlier three‑Judge Bench decision and must be set aside, with the matter to be decided by a three‑Judge Bench.

Summary

The case concerned a dispute over inter‑se seniority between temporary doctors appointed on an ad‑hoc basis in the Uttar Pradesh Provincial Medical Services and doctors selected through the Public Service Commission. A three‑Judge Bench had earlier held that temporary doctors could count seniority from their initial appointment, while a later two‑Judge Bench ruled that seniority could only be counted from the date of regularisation under the 1979 Regularisation Rules. The Supreme Court examined whether these judgments were in conflict and, applying the doctrine of binding precedent, held that the two‑Judge Bench decision was contrary to the earlier three‑Judge Bench ruling. Consequently, the Court directed that the writ petitions be referred to a three‑Judge Bench for final disposal. The judgment reaffirmed the principle that a larger Bench’s decision binds smaller or coordinate benches on points of law.

Issues considered

The existence of a conflict between the three‑Judge Bench decision and the two‑Judge Bench decision on the seniority of temporary doctors
Whether the two‑Judge Bench judgment should be set aside under the doctrine of binding precedent
The appropriate bench to finally decide the writ petitions

Legislation cited

Constitution of Indias. Article 141, s. Article 32

Subjects

senioritytemporary doctorsad‑hoc appointmentsregularisation rulesdoctrine of precedentbinding precedentinter se seniorityArticle 32Article 141judicial hierarchy

Judgment

T CHANDRA PRAKASH AND ORS. A
"°'~ v.
STATE OF U.P. AND ANR.

APRIL 4, 2002

(S.P. BHARUCHA, CJ., R.C. LAHOTI AND N. SANTOSH HEGDE, B
5i RUMA PAL AND ARIJIT PASAYAT, JJ.)

,,
Constitution of India, 1950-Article 141.

Binding precedent-Doctrine of-Judgment of three-Judge Bench and C
two-Judge Bench-Coriflict-Ejfect of-On facts, dispute over inter se seniority
between temporary doctors and selectee doctors-Three-Judge Bench upholding
right of temporary doctors to count their seniority from date of initial
appointment-Jn subsequent judgment two-Judge Bench holding that temporary
doctors acquire seniority from the date of their regular appointment-State D
Government taking action on directions of two-Judge Bench-Writ Petitions
filed-Referring matter to five-Judge Bench for consideration, Held : Judgment
of two-Judge Bench does not lay down correct law, being in conflict with
three-Judge Bench-Two-Judge Bench to follow decision ofthree-Judge Bench.

Dispute of inter se seniority arose between the temporary .doctors E
originally appointed in consultation with Public Service Commission (PSC)
and selectee doctors appointed through the PSC. Three-Judge Bench upheld
the right of temporary doctors as a class to count their seniority from the
date of their initial appointment In subsequent judgment, 2-Judge Bench held
appointment de hors, the rules do not confer any right of seniority and
temporary doctors acquired rights only from the date of their regular F
appointment according to regularisation rules. Thereafter the respondents
took consequent action on basis of the directions issued by two-Judge Bench.
Hence the present writ petition which is referred for consideration to five-
Judge Bench.

The question which arose for consideration is with regard to existence
G
of conflict between the judgment of the three-Judge Bench and the tw<>-Judge
Bench, the effect of such conflict, if any, and whether the writ petitions should
be finally decided by this Bench or not.

913 H
914 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2002) 2 S.C.R.

A Answering the question, the Court

HELD : 1. While the three-Judge .Bench upheld the right of temporary
doctors as a class to be entitled to count seniority from the date of their initial
appointment, by the subsequent judgment the two-Judge Bench has taken a
different view by holding that temporary appointees cannot claim seniority
B from the date of their initial appointment but can count the same only from
the date of their regularisation under the Regularisation Rules. This being
the core issue involved in the dispute between the temporary doctors and
selectee doctors, the two-Judge Bench has taken a directly conflicting view
from that taken by the three-Judge Bench. [921-G-H; 922-A]
c 2.1. The principles of the doctrine of binding precedent are no more in
doubt. This is reflected in a iarge number of cases decided by this Court.
[922-B]

2.2. Most of the decisions of this Court are of significance not merely
D because they constitute an adjudication on the rights of the parties and resolve
the disputes between them but also because in doing so they embody a
declaration of law operating as a binding principle in future cases. The
doctrine of binding precedent is of utmost importance in the administration
of our judicial system. It promotes certainty and consistency in judicial

E
decision. Judicial consistency promotes confidence in the system, therefore,
there is this need for consistency in the enunciation of legal principles in the
.
)

decisions of this Court. [924-C-E]

2.3. Applying the principles laid down in Raghubir Singh and Parija's
case* it is held that the judgment of the two-Judge Bench of this Court as
modified by the subsequent order by the same Bench does not lay down the
F correct law, being in conflict with the judgment of three-Judge Bench.
Therefore, these writ petitions be placed before a Bench of three Judges for
final disposal [925-A, G]

*Union ofIndia and Anr. etc. v. Raghubir Singh (dead) by LRs. etc., [1989]
G 2 SCC 754 and Pradip Chandra Parija and Ors. v. Pramod Chandra Patnaik
and Ors., [2002] 1 sec, relied on.

State of U.P. and Anr. v. Dr. MJ. Siddiqui and Ors., [1980f 3 SCC 174,
referred to.

CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION Writ Petition (C) No. 43 of
H 1998.
CHANDRA PRAKASH v. ST ATE [SANTOSH HEGDE, J.] 915

(Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India.) A
WITH

W.P.(C) Nos. 237, 220, 276, 532, 539, 547/98, 176, 229 and 299/99 and
I.A. Nos. 1, 2 and 5 to 24.
B
C.S. Vaidyanathan, Ranjit Kumar, V.A. Mohta, Subodh Markandeya,
P.B. Menon, Dr. J.N. Dubey, P.S. Mishra, A. Sharan, Sudhir Chandra, M.C.
· Dhingra, Vinod Shukla, Rajeev Sharma, Varun Goswami, Rajeev Sharma,
Mohd. Taiyab Khan, Shakil Ahmad Syed, Jitendra Mohan Sharma, K.K .
Mohan, Mohan Babu Agarwal, Karnalendra Mishra, Ms. Feroza Bano, Ms.
Chitra Markandaya, R.C. Verma, Ashok K. Srivastava, Puneet Kumar Saxena, C
Ms. Vijayalakhshmi Menon, Anurag Dubey for Rani Chhabra, C.D. Singh, S.
Chandra Shekhar, Dr. LP. Singh, for Anip Sachthey, Sarnir Ali Khan, Amit
Kumar, Praveen Swarup, S.K. Verma, Prashant Choudhary, Ms. Geetanjali
Mohan, Rajiv K. Garg, Abhishek Soni, N.S. Gahalat, Prakash Singh, Prarnod
Swarup, Ms. Mridula Ray Bhardwaj, Arvind Kr. Shukla, Arvind Kumar Sahu, D
Rashid Saeed, Irshad Ahmad, Parthapratim Chaudhri, Sanjeev Bansal, K.S.
Rana, R.K. Bansal, Shrish Kumar Misra, Viswajit Singh, Prashant Kumar,
Joseph Pookkatt, Prasenjit Keswani, Ms. Bela Maheshwari, E.C. Vidya Sagar,
(NP), Jeevan Singh and K.K. Mohan for the appearing parties.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by : E
SANTOSH HEGDE, J. A 3-Judge Bench of this Court by an order
dated 17 .8.2000, referred the abovenoted writ petitions for consideration by a
Bench of five Judges by the following order :

"We have heard learned counsel. It appears that a Bench of two learned F
Judges of this Court has taken a view dissimilar to that taken by a
Bench of three learned judges. It appears, therefore, that these matters
should be heard and disposed of by a Bench of five learned Judges
and, to the extent possible, with expedition."

Brief facts necessary for the disposal of this case are as follows : G
In the U.P. Provincial Medical Services (PMS) for a considerable length
of time, regular appointtnents were not made and with a view to meet the need
for doctors, appointtnents were being made on a temporary basis but in
consultation with the State Public Service Commission. These appointtnents
were continued for decades together without any interruption. In 1979, the H
916 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2002) 2 S.C.R.

A respondent-State purported to regularise the services of these temporary doctors
by the promulgation ofU.P. Regularisation of Ad-hoc Appointments (On Post
within the purview of the Public Service Commission) Rules, 1979 (for short
'the Regularisation Rules'), and sought to give these appointees seniority only
from the date of their such regularised appointment under the Rules.

B In the meanwhile, in the year 1972 pursuant to the advertisements issued
by the Public Service Commission, the said Commission made selections to
fill the vacancies in the PMS and recommended the names of certain selectees.
Such selections and recommendations seem to have been made in instalments
between the year 1972 and 1979. These selections made by the Public Service
C Commission were originally not acceptable to the State Government but when
they became acceptable because of certain judicial pronouncements or
otherwise, the question .of inter se seniority arose between the temporary
doctors originally appointed and the doctors appointed through the Public
Service Commission. It was the stand of the temporary doctors that they were
appointed to permanent vacancies in consultation with the PSC and having
D continued for a considerable length of time in service, their original -'.
appointments ought to be deemed as regular, and they should be given seniority
from the date of their initial appointments. This claim of the temporary doctors
being rejected, three temporary doctors approached the Allahabad High Court
in three separate writ petitions; Civil Misc. W.P. No. 20408/88 filed by Dr.
E H.C. Mathur was one such petition. The High Court of Allahabad clubbing the
three petitions, by its order dated 26.4.1991, upheld the claim of the temporary
doctors and held that their seniority should be counted from the date of their
initial appointment in the PMS cadre and that they are also entitled to all the
service benefits which are due to them after so fixing their seniority. ,...

F The State of U.P: selectively filed an SLP against the judgment of the
High Court in W.P. No. 20408/88, that is in the case of Dr. H. C. Mathur. The
said matter came up before this Court in SLP (c) No. 13840/92 before a 3-
Judge Bench of this Court which by its order dated 24.11.1992 held thus :

"We have heard Mr. D.V. Sehgal, Senior counsel appearing for the
G State ofU.P. The respondent in this Special Leave Petition has served
.the State of U .P. for over 30 years, and he was regularised after he had
put in more than 20 years of service. Relying upon the Uttar Pradesh
Regulation of Ad-hoc appointments (On posts within the purview of
the Public Service Commission) Rules, 1979, the State ofU.P. declined
H to give him the benefit of 20 years of service towards seniority. The
CHANDRA PRAKASH v. STATE [SANTOSH HEGDE, J.] 917

Allahabad High Court allowed this Writ Petition and granted him the A
benefit of the whole of the period towards seniority. We see no infirmity
in the judgment of the High Court. We agree with the reasoning and
the conclusions reached therein. Special Leave Petition is dismissed."

Thus, the judgment of the High Court upholding the right of the
temporary doctors to count their seniority from the date of their initial B
appointment came to be confirmed. It is on record that subsequent to that a
number of othe! similarly situated temporary doctors also filed similar petitions
.. and obtained similar relief out of which some cases were brought to this Court
by the state ofU.P. like in W.P. No. 6227/81 which was decided by this Court
in SLP (c) cc No. 18791192 wherein the judgment of the High Court was C
again confirmed by a Division Bench of this Court on 21.1.1993.

During the pendency of some of the abovenoted petitions, it is seen
from the record that some of the selectee doctors who were not given letter
of appointment by the State Government, approached the State Service Tribunal .
seeking a direction that they be appointed in service in accordance with the D
selections and recommendations made by the Public Service Commission.
the Tribunal on those petitions passed the following order:

"The references are allowed, the order of State of U.P. whereby it has
cancelled the selection list submitted to it by the Public Service
Commission, U.P. contained in G.0. No.1355/Child. 4-546178 dated E
13.3.84 is quashed being illegal, inoperative, null and void and the
petitioners are declared entitled to get appointed subject of course to
other considerations mention in the body of judgment, as medical
• officers in accordance with the said selection list of the commission
and to get all the consequential service benefits. The opposite parties
are directed to issue letter of appointment to the petitioners on the F
basis of selection list of23. 12.1997 within three months of this decision
and also gave all the consequential service benefits."

... The State of U.P. challenged the said order of the Tribunal by way of
W.P. No. 7066/86 which was heard by the High Court along with other G
connected matters, and the High Court modified the order of the Tribunal in
the following terms:

"In these circumstances, the directions issued by the claim Tribunal
were totally justified. However, in view of fact the recruitment was
made about I 4 years earlier and the persons who were appointed on H
\
918 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2002] 2 S.C.R.

A adhoc basis have been regularised during the last 12 years, it may not
be proper to direct the appointment of all the selectees at this stage.
However, the claim of the petitioner who had been selected and are t
also working on adhoc basis shall be deemed to have been appointed
on the date when the vacancies were first filled by the regularisation
by virtue of being selected by the Public Service Commission and
B would be entitled to seniority and other benefits accordingly: The
relief granted by the Tribunal shall stand modified to that extent."

It is seen from the above proceedings, the basic question involved in
..l.
those matters before the Tribunal as well as before the High Court was in
C regard to the inaction/refusal on the part of the State Government in not
issuing appointment letters to the petitioners. While considering the said inaction
of the Government in issuing appointment letters to those selectee doctors, the
Tribunal held that those doctors were entitled to the relief sought for by them.
However, the High Court while confirming the said order of the Tribunal
· confined the relief to only those persons who had approached the Tribunal.
D Against this judgment of the High Court, the State of U .P. cam(! up in a batch
of SLPs. in C.A. Nos. 4438-42 of 1995. It is in this batch of civil appeals that
.
..,/..,

a 2-Judge of this Court by its order dated 23 .3 .1995 held: "It is settled law that
all adhoc appointment made de-hors the rules do not confer any right to
permanency or seniority. They acquire the right only from the date of their
E regular appointment according to rules. "While so declaring the law which
affected the seniority of the temporary doctors who were appointed much
earlier than the selectee doctors, the 2-Judge Bench though noticed the judgment
of the 3-Judge Bench made in SLP (C) No. 14480/92, did not further discuss
this judgment nor did it in specific terms'-distinguish/overrule that judgment
but. proceeded to take a view which was directly opposed to the view taken
F by the _3-Judge Bench. That order of 23.3.1995 came to be further modified
by the same Bench in IA Nos. 16-20 etc. in C.A. Nos. 4438-42 of 1995 by
its subsequent order dated 26.7.1996. By this order, the Court while holding
that the benefits accrued to retired doctors should not be disturbed, held that
the inter se seniority between the doctors recruited through the PSC and the
doctors whose services were absorbed under the Regularisation Rules should
G be determined in accordance with Rule 7 of the said Rules which in effect also
ran counter to the judgment of 3-Judge Bench. The 2-Judge Bench further
upheld the contention of the selectee doctors that they could not be treated as
junior to the non-selectee (temporary doctors) and directed the State
Government to give promotions in accordance with the Regularisation Rules
H referred to hereinabove.
CHANDRA PRAKASH v. ST ATE [SANTOSH HEGDE, J.] 919

It is imperative to notice the fact that the two orders of the 2-Judge A
,
.' Bench of this Court were in appeals filed against the order of the High Court
confirming the directions issued by the Service Tribunal in regard to
appointment of certain selectee doctors and was not in regard to any petition
wherein the inter se rights of the temporary doctors and selectee doctors were
directly in issue unlike the case of Dr. Mathur decided by a 3-Judge Bench B
of this Court.

It is because of the consequent action taken by the State Goverrunent
based on the directions issued by 2-Jadge Bench of this Court in the above-
referred ca5e that the petitioners herein have preferred the above-noted writ
petition under Article 32 of the Constitution. This Court issued 'rule' in this C
case on 24.4.1998, and during the course of hearing, a 3-Judge Bench of this
Court on 4.2.1999 felt it necessary that all persons who are likely to be
affected by the decision in these writ petitions, should be intimated of the
pendency of these petitions, hence, it directed the State of U.P. to issue a
notice in two daily newspapers setting out that these writ petitions are being
heard before this Court and that those whose seniority is likely to be affected, D
are entitled to come before this Court and put forth their point of view,
including all those persons who are governed by earlier court orders. A similar
circular to this effect was also directed to be sent to all District Headquarters.

Pursuant to the above publication and Circulars, a large number of
applications for impleadment/intervention were received and the same have E
been listed for orders along with the above writ petitions.

It is in this context, noticing the conflict between the judgments of the
3-Judge Bench and the 2-Judge Bench, this matter has been referred to a
larger Bench.
F
Even though the writ petitions themselves have been referred to this
larger Bench for final disposal, we are of the opinion that we should initially
decide the question as to the existence of conflict between the judgments of
the 3-Judge Bench, and the 2-Judge Bench, and the effect of such conflict, if
any, and then decide whether the writ petitions should be finally decided by G
this Bench o; not. In that view of the matter, we have heard learned counsel
appearing for the parties to the limited extent of finding out whether there is
any conflict between the judgment of 2-Judge Bench and that of 3-Judge
Bench and if so, what is the effect of judgments dated 23.3.1995 and 26.7.1996
of the 2-Judge Bench.
H
920 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2002) 2 S.C.R.

A On behalf of the writ petitioners, it was contended that the issue in
regard to date of counting of seniority of temporary doctors having been
concluded by the 3-Judge Bench decision of this Court in Dr. Mathur's case,
the same could not have been in any manner, varied or altered to the detriment
of that class of doctors who were similarly placed as Dr. Mathur because that
judgment declared the rights of not only Dr. H C. Mathur but also that of the
B class of doctors similarly situated.. They also contend that application of Rule
7 of the Regularisation Rules was considered in Dr. Mathur 's case, and was
held to be inapplicable by the High Court which view was confirmed by the t-
i

3-Judge Bench of this Court, therefore, the 2-Judge Bench could not have held
that the said rule is applicable while counting the seniority of the temporary
C doctors. This argument is based on the doctrine of binding precedents which
requires that a judgment of a larger Bench should not be overruled or differed

..from by a Coordinate Bench, much less by a Bench of lesser strength. It is
stated that the judicial discipline apart, the judgments of th~s Court have
clearly laid down that a Coordinate Bench or a Bench of lesser strength cannot
overrule a decision rendered earlier by another coordinate Bench or a Bench
D of larger strength. Reliance was placed on the following judgments of this
Court:

Union of India and Anr. etc. v. Raghubir Singh (dead) by LRs. etc.,
[1989] 2 SCC 754 and Pradip Chandra Parija and Ors. v. Pramod Chandra
E Patnaik and Ors., [2002] I SCC I. It is also contended by the writ petitioners
herein that the order of the 2-Judge Bench was made without issuing notice
to the affected parties.

Per contra, learned counsel appearing for the respondents-applicants,
contend that there is no conflict between the views taken by the 3-Judge
F Bench and the 2-Judge Bench (supra). They submitted that, as a matter of fact,
the subsequent orders of the 2-Judge Bench are more in t~e nature of
clarification than conflicting. They, however, agree that ifthere is any conflict
then such view of the 2-Judge Bench cannot be sustained.

We will now proceed to consider whether there is in fact any conflict
G between the two sets of judgments. In this process, we must bear in mind the
fact that the judgment of this Court in Dr. Mathur 's case was a confinn~g
judgment wherein this Court upheld the findings of the High Court by a
reasoned order though brief. Therefore, it becomes necessary to notice the
basis of the judgment of the High Court which was under appeal before this
Court in Dr. Mathur 's case. In the said batch of writ petitions filed before the
H
CHANDRA PRAKASH v. STATE [SANTOSH HEGDE, J.] 921

High Court including that of Dr. Mathur, the High Court held that appointments A
of temporary doctors were made against substantive vacancies which had
fallen vacant due to non-availability of doctors. It also held that the eligibility
of the writ petitioners therein for being appointed as PMS-II was not in dispute.
It further held that the petitioners therein held the necessary qualification for
regular appointment. From the records available before it, the High Court
came to the conclusion that the petitioners therein had been working against B
substantive vacancies and were never treated as ad hoc appointees. It also held
that the mere fact that their services were not regularised, would not deny
those petitioners the benefit of their continuity in service from the date of their
initial appointment, and a subsequent regularisation would not take away their
right to seniority from the date of their initial appointment. It is on the basis C
of these findings that the High Court directed to fix the seniority of the
temporary doctors from the date of their initial appointment in the PMS cadre,
giving them all the service benefits which were due to them after fIXing their
seniority. It was this judgment when brought before this Court, a 3-Judge
Bench upheld the same. It also noticed the fact that the Regularisation Rules
did not give them that benefit. Still this Court held that those doctors were D
entitled to count' their service from the date of initial appointment for the
purpose of counting their seniority. We have already noticed that this judgement
has been successively followed in the subsequent cases, one of which at least
came before this Court and the said view of this Court was affirmed.

In the subsequent judgments of this Court, as noticed by us earlier the
E
2-Judge Bench has held that ad hoc appointments made de hors the rules did
not confer any right to permanency or seniority and that they acquire the right
only from the date of their regular appointment according to the Rules. It had
further held that while those temporary doctors who had approached the High
Court and obtained directions from the Court can count their seniority from F
the date of their initial appointment, others, meaning thereby those temporary
doctors who have not approached the court but were similarly appointed,
could be given the seniority only from the date of their regularisation under
the Rules. It is, thus, clear from the above referred obse>Vations in the judgment
of the 2-Judge Bench that while the 3-Judge Bench upheld the right of
temporary doctors (similarly situated as Dr. Mathur) 'as a class to be entitled G
to count seniority from the date of their initial appointment, by the subsequent
"'" judgment the 2-Judge Bench has taken a different view by holding that .
temporary appointees cannot claim seniority from the date of their initial
appointment but can count the same only from the date of their regularisation
under Rule 7 of the Regularisation Rules. This being the core issue involved H
922 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2002] 2 S.C.R.

A in the dispute between the temporary doctors and selectee doctors, in our
opinion, the 2-Judge Bench has taken a directly conflicting view from that
taken by the 3-Judge Bench.

The question, therefore, for our consideration is: how far this is
permissible?
B
The principles of the doctrine of binding precedent are no more in
doubt. This is reflected in a large number of cases decided by this Court. For
the purpose of deciding the issue before us, we intend referring to the following
two judgments of this Court. ,t. t

C In the case of Union of India v. Raghubir Singh (supra), a 5-Judge
Bench of this Court speaking through Pathak, CJ., held that pronouncement
of a law. by a Division Bench of this Court is binding on another. Division
Bench of the same or smaller number of Judges. The judgment further states
that in order that such decision be binding, it is not necessary that it should
D be a decision rendered by the Full Court or a Constitution Bench of the Court.
To avoid a repetition of the discussion on this subject, we think it appropriate
to reproduce the following paragraph of that judgment which reads as follows:

"What then should be the position in regard to the effect of the
law pronounced by a Division Bench in relation to a case realising the
E same point subsequently before a Division Bench of a smaller number
of Judges? There is no constitutional or statutory prescription in the
matter, and the point is governed entirely by the practice in India of
the courts sanctified by repeated affirmation over a century of time. It
cannot be doubted that in order to promote consistency and certamty
in the law laid down by a superior Court, the ideal condition would
F be that the entire Court should sit in all cases to decide questions of
law, and for that reason the Supreme Court of the United States does
so. But having regard to the volume of work demanding the attention
of the Court, it has been found necessary in India as a general rule of
practice and convenience that the Court should sit in Divisions, each
Division being constituted of Judges whose number may be determined
G
by the exigencies of judicial need, by the nature of the case including
any statutory mandate relative thereto, and by such other consideration
which the Chief Justice, in whom such authority devolves by
convention, may find most appropriate. It is in order to guard against
the possibility of inconsistent decisions on points of law by different
H Division Benches that the rule has been evolved, in order to promote
CHANDRA PRAKASH v. STATE (SANTOSH HEGDE, I.] 923

consistency and certainty in the development of the law and its A
contemporary status, that the statement of the law by a Division Bench,
is considered binding on a Division Bench of the same or lesser number
of Judges. This principle has been followed in India by several
generations of Judges. We may refer to a few of the recent cases on
the point. In John Martin v. State of West Bengal, [1975] 3 SCC 836,
a Division Bench of three Judges found it right to follow the law B
declared in Haradhan Shah v. Stare of West Bengal, [1975] 3 SCC
198, decided by a Division Bench of five Judges, in preference to
Bhut Nath Mate v. State of West Bengal, [1974] 1 SCC 645 decided
• by a Division Bench of two Judges. Again in Indira Nehru Gandhi v.
Raj Narain, [1975] Supp. SCC 1, Beg J held that the Constitution C
Bench of five Judges was bound by the Constitution Bench of thirteen
Judges in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kera/a, [1973] 4 SCC
225]. Jn Ganpati Sitaram Balvalkar v. Waman Shripad Mage, [1981]
4 SCC 143, this Court expressly stated that the view taken on a point
of law by a Division Bench of four Judges of this Court was binding
on a Division Bench of three Judges of the Court. And in Mattu/al v. D
Radhe Lal, [1974] 2 SCC 365, this Court specifically observed that
where the view expressed by two different Division Benches of this
Court could not be reconciled, the pronouncement of a Division Bench
of a larger number of Judges had to be preferred over the decision of
a Division Bench of a smaller number of Judges. This Court also laid E
down in Acharya Maharajshri Narandraprasaiji Anandprasadji
Maharaj v. State of Gujrat, [1975] 1 SCC 11 that even where the
strength of two differing Division Benches consisted of the same
number of Judges, it was not open to one Division Bench to decide
the correctness or otherwise of the views of the other. The principle
was reaffirmed in Union of India v. Godfrey Philips India Ltd, [1985] F
4 SCC 369 which noted that a Division Bench of two Judges of this
Court in Jit Ram Shiv Kumar v. State of Haryana, [1981] 1 SCC 11
had differed from the view taken by an earlier Division Bench of two
Judges in Motilal Padampat Sugar Mills v. State of UP., [1979] 2
sec 409 on the point whether the doctrine of promissory estoppel G
could be defeated by invoking the defence of executive necessity, and
holding that to do so was wholly unacceptable reference was made to
the well accepted and desirable practice of the later bench referring
the case to a larger Bench when the learned Judges found that the
situation called for such reference."
H
924 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2002] 2 S.C.R.

A Almost similar is the view expressed by a recent judgment of 5-Judge
Bench of this Court in Parija's case {supra). In that case, a Bench of2 learned .,-
Judges doubted the correctness of the decision of a Bench of 3 learned Judges,
hence, directly referred the matter to a Bench of 5 learned Judges fof.
reconsideration. In such a situation, the 5 Judge Bench held that judicial
discipline and propriety demanded that a Bench of 2 learned Judges should
B follow the decision of a Bench of 3 learned Judges. On this basis, the 5-Judge
Bench found fault with the reference made by the 2-Judge Bench based on the
doctrine of binding precedent.

A careful perusal of the above judgments shows that this Court took .l I
(
note of the hierarchical character of the judicial system in India. It also held
c that it is of paramount importance that the law declared by this Court should
be certain, clear and consistent. As stated in the above judgments, it is of
common knowledge that most of the decisions of this Court are of significance
not merely because they constitute an adjudication on the rights of the p_arties
and resolve the disputes between them but also because in doing so· they
D embody a declaration of law operating as a binding principle in future cases.
The doctrine of binding precedent is of utmost importance in the administration
of our judicial system. It promotes certainty and consistency in judicial
decisions. Judicial consistency promotes confidence in the system, therefore,
there is this need for consistency in the enunciation of legal principles in the
decisions of this Court. It is in the above context, this Court in the case of
·E Raghubir Singh held that a pronouncement of law by a Division Bench of this
Court is binding on a Division Bench of the same or similar number of
Judges. It is in furtherance of this enunciation. of law, this Court in the latter
judgment of Parija (supra) held that-
,,.,
"But if a .Bench of two learned Judges concludes that an earlier
F
judgment of three learned Judges is so very incorrect that· in no
circumstances can it be followed, the proper course for it to adopt is
to refer the matter before it to a Bench of three learned Jw;fges setting
out the reasons why it could not agree with the earlier judgment. If,
then, the Bench of three learned Judges also comes to the conclusion
·G that the earlier judgment of a Bench of three learned Judges is incorrect, ~
reference to a Bench of five learned Judges is justified."
y
(emphasis supplied)

We are in respectful agreement with the enunciation of law made by this
H Court in the above noted judgments in Raghubir Singh and Parija (supra).
CHANDRA PRAKASH v. STATE [SANTOSH HEGDE, J.] 925

Applying the principles laid down in the abovesaid cases, we hold that A
the judgment of the 2-Judge Bench of this Court dated 23.3.1995 as modified
by the subsequent order dated 26.7.1996 by the same Bench does not lay
down the correct law, being in conflict with the larger Bench judgment. If that
be so, the above writ petitions, from which this reference has arisen, will have
to be decided de hare< the law laid down by those two judgments of the Bench B
of two learned Judges. Therefore, having decided the issue that has arisen for
our consideration, we think it just that these writ petitions should now be
placed before a Bench of three learned Judges for final disposal.

.,, At this stage, it is necessary to record the argument advanced on behalf
' of the respondents that the writ petitioners before us are not similarly placed C
as Dr. Mathur, hence, the benefit of the judgment of three Judge Bench in Dr.
Mathur~ case is not applicable to the writ petitioners. They also contend that
the Judgment in Dr. Mathur's case runs counter to an earlier judgment of three
Judge bench of this Court in the case of State of UP. and Anr. v. Dr. MJ
Siddique and Ors., [1980] 3 SCC 174, therefore, it is contended that the claim
of the writ petitioners herein should be considered independent of the judgment D
of 3-Judge Bench in Dr. Mathur's case. At this stage, it is sufficient for us to
say that we are not deciding the inter se rights of the petitioners and other
respondents in these writ petitions or the correctness of the judgment of the
3-Judge Bench in Dr. Mathur 's case. If any such argument is raised, it will
be considered in accordance with law by the Bench which will be hearing E
these petitions. Therefore, we do not express any opinion on these questions.
We also make it clear that we are not passing any orders on the impleadmentl
intervention applications pending in these petitions and those will be decided
by the Bench hearing these writ petitions on their merits.

For the reasons stated above, we hold that the judgments of this Court F
dated 23.3.1995 and 26.7.1996 delivered by 2-Judge Bench in C.A. Nos.
4438-42/95 do not reflect the correct declaration oflaw, being in conflict with
the Judgment of the 3-Judge Bench dated 24.11.1992 in SLP No. 13840 of
1992, we, further, direct that these petitions shall now be listed for disposal
before a Bench of three learned Judges. Ordered accordingly.
G
NJ. Petitions answered.