What are the Different Types of Judgments?

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Today, I will talk about the case of Shyam Sel Power Limited & Another v. Shyam Steel Industries Limited, 2022 SCC OnLine SC 313, wherein the Hon’ble Supreme Court discussed the types or kinds of judgments, that are prevalent.

 

MEANING

 

Before adverting any further, it is important to understand what a ‘judgment’ is. Generally speaking, a ‘judgment’ is “a court’s final determination of the rights and obligations of the parties in a case.”

 

There are various other definitions of ‘judgment’ that are provided in different laws.

 

For example, Section 2 (9) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, defines ‘judgment’ as “the statement given by the judge of the grounds of a decree or order.” However, the definition provided under the Code of Civil Procedure cannot be considered to be comprehensive as in legal parlance, “the word judgment has undoubtedly a concept of finality in a broader and not a narrower sense.” The judgments are pronounced not only in civil or criminal parlance but also in the ever-increasing field of complex litigations relating to corporations, monopolies etc. Hence, a constricted approach to understand the meaning of ‘judgment’ would not be apposite.

 

TYPES OF JUDGMENTS

 

In order to elucidate, the Court in the present case broadly categorized ‘judgments’ into three kinds: -

 

a. Final Judgment — It is “a judgment which decides all the questions or issues in controversy so far as the trial Judge is concerned and leaves nothing else to be decided.”

 

b. Preliminary Judgment — This kind of judgments could of two types: -

 

i. Where a suit or a matter is dismissed at the threshold or preliminary stage itself, as a consequence, “the order passed by the Trial Judge would be a judgment finally deciding the cause so far as the Trial Judge is concerned.” Some examples in this regard could be dismissal of suit on account of non-payment of court-fees, discharging the accused at the stage of framing of charges etc.

 

ii. Where an Order is passed by the Trial Judge relating to a preliminary issue such as bar of jurisdiction or res judicata or defect in the suit etc., then even though the suit or the matter may not get dismissed or terminated at the threshold stage, yet “such an order even though it keeps the suit alive, undoubtedly decides an important aspect of the trial which affects” vital rights of the parties and must, therefore, be construed to be a judgment.

 

c. Intermediary or Interlocutory Judgment — Most of the interlocutory orders which contain the quality of finality have been held to be judgments. The interlocutory orders which also possess the characteristics and trappings of finality and decide an important aspect of the trial in an ancillary proceeding, could also be termed as ‘judgment’ provided that it has a direct and immediate adverse effect on the concerned party to the case. A good example is an Order passed by a Trial Judge dismissing a Compromise Application jointly moved by the parties. Such order vitally affects the valuable rights of the parties since had the Compromise Application been allowed, the suit would have attained finality.

 

Thus, what is to be understood is that during the course of a trial, a Trial Judge may pass a number of interlocutory orders of routine nature that may cause inconvenience to one of the parties to the case. However, “every interlocutory order cannot be regarded as a judgment but only those orders would be judgments which decide matters of moment or affect vital and valuable rights of the parties.”

 

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

 

Thus, in conclusion, following important points emerge: -

 

a. Generally speaking, a ‘judgment’ is “a court’s final determination of the rights and obligations of the parties in a case.”

 

b. The definitions provided under the Code of Civil Procedure or other laws cannot be considered to be comprehensive as in legal parlance, “the word judgment has undoubtedly a concept of finality in a broader and not a narrower sense.”

 

c. A Final Judgment is “a judgment which decides all the questions or issues in controversy so far as the trial Judge is concerned and leaves nothing else to be decided.”

 

d. Preliminary Judgments are those judgments where a suit or a matter is either dismissed at the threshold or preliminary stage itself or a preliminary issue that materially affects the rights of the parties is conclusively decided.

 

e. Interlocutory Judgment are judicial orders which also possess the characteristics and trappings of finality and decide an important aspect of the trial in an ancillary proceeding.

 

f. Every interlocutory order cannot be regarded as a judgment.

 

Therefore, I hope that the types of judgments and their relevance is clear by now.