The principle of lis alibi pendens and Forum non conveniens

The principle of lis alibi pendens and Forum non conveniens

Subject: Polity

Section:

Context: The Madras High court only the Karnataka High Court can decide a dispute related to removing a Bengaluru medical college from the ambit of a deemed-to-be university in Chennai.

Concept: 

• Federalism is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution and it applies to the judiciary as well.
• A High Court in one State cannot exercise powers which, under normal circumstances, can be exercised only by the High Court in another State,

The principle of Forumnon conveniens  

• Forum non conveniens is a common law legal doctrine through which a court acknowledges that another forum or a court where the case might have been brought is a more appropriate venue for a legal case and transfers the case to such a forum.
•  A concern often raised in applications of  the doctrine is forum shopping or picking a court merely to gain advantage in a proceeding.

The principle of lis alibi pendens  

• The principle of lis alibi pendens (a dispute pending elsewhere) applies to address the problem of potentially contradictory judgments.
• If two courts were to hear the same dispute, it is possible for them to reach inconsistent decisions.
•  Lis alibi pendens arises from the international comity and it permits a court to refuse exercising jurisdiction when there is a parallel litigation pending in another jurisdiction.

The case:

• The ‘2019 ambit notification’ passed by the Union Ministry of Education declaring that the Bengaluru college would fall within the ambit of the Chennai university.
• The State government had also filed a writ petition before the Karnataka High Court in 2020, challenging the ‘2019 ambit notification’ .A joint writ petition filed against the withdrawal of the  ‘2019 ambit notification’
• The Karnataka High court rejected the argument that a part of cause of action had arisen in Chennai due of the location of the university and therefore, the Madras High Court could entertain the case.
• The Madras High court only the Karnataka High Court can decide a dispute related to removing a Bengaluru medical college from the ambit of a deemed-to-be university in Chennai.
• The appropriate court for deciding the lis (dispute) is the Karnataka High Court