When the original decision was rendered in JSW case, most of us in legal fraternity wondered why the corporate wisdom was overruled by the Hon’ble Supreme Court. But as the saying goes, better late than never. The Court has corrected its mistake in a brief time. However, it leaves open a wider question – are Supreme Court’s decisions good for a fortnight or a month or at the most a year? No one knows when the Hon’ble Court will take a U-turn. That is dangerous from jurisprudential point of view. It is more dangerous in a volatile political situation presently prevailing in India.

The law ought to be stable and predictable. Consider, after how many decades, the U.S. Supreme Court modified Roe v. Wade – it was about five decades. There is at least one incident in U.S. Supreme Court when it held that even if its judgment was wrong, it would not change on its own though the legislature could do it if it so desired. The underlying thinking was that law laid down by the highest court should remain stable and predictable. It is not so in India.

The problem lies in the Bench system in the Supreme Court. It is a top heavy court. More than 30 Judges sit in Benches. If one Bench has a different view, it tries to tweak the decision of earlier Bench. This is happening despite lofty principle of law that the earlier precedent is binding in a subsequent case, and principle of stare decisis should be followed. On the other hand, all the nine Judges in U.S. Supreme Court sit as a single Bench.