livelawpk.com - [The Doctrine of Election] --- SCP

Selection of a remedy from available several coexistent or concurrent remedies prevents the recourse to successive remedy for redressal of grievance arising out of singular wrong [The Doctrine of Election] --- SCP

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Islamabad 02-02-2024: The Honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan laid down an important judgment in respect of selection of a remedy amongst available multiple remedies against the singular wrong. The Honourable Judge of Supreme Court, Mr. Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi while hearing [Civil Petition No.1787-L of 2022] observed that the principles of giving a choice to select a remedy from among several coexistent and/or concurrent remedies prevents the recourse to multiple or successive redressals of a singular wrong or impugned action. It also provides an opportunity for an aggrieved person to choose a remedy that best suits the given circumstances. Such a rule of prudence has been developed by courts of law to reduce the multiplicity of proceedings. As long as a party does not avail of the remedy before a Court of competent jurisdiction all such remedies remain open to be invoked. Once the election is made then the party generally, cannot be allowed to hop over and shop for one after another coexistent remedies.

It is further observed by the Honourable Court that when an aggrieved person intends to commence any legal action to enforce any right and or invoke a remedy to set right a wrong or to vindicate an injury, he has to elect and or choose from amongst the actions or remedies available under the law. The choice to initiate and pursue one out of the available concurrent or coexistent actions or remedy from a forum of competent jurisdiction vest with the aggrieved person. Once the choice is exercised and the election is made then the aggrieved person is prohibited from launching another proceeding to seek relief or remedy contrary to what could be claimed and or achieved by adopting other proceeding/action and or remedy, which in legal parlance is recognized as ‘doctrine of election’, which doctrine is culled by the courts of law from the well-recognized principles of waiver and or abandonment of a known right, claim, privilege or relief as contained in Order II, rule (2) C.P.C., principles of estoppel as embodied in Article 114 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order 1984 and principles of res-judicata as articulated in section 11, C.P.C. and its explanations.