In the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) of Pakistan, Sections 10 and 11 deal with avoidance of duplicate proceedings and finality of decisions. Here’s a clear difference between them
Section 10 CPC – Stay of Suit
- Purpose: Prevents two parallel suits on the same matter.
- Key Point: If a suit is already pending in a court between the same parties and on the same cause of action, a second suit cannot proceed.
- Focus: Pending litigation.
- Effect: The second suit is stayed, not dismissed.
Example:
If Suit title abdul rahim versus abdul rehman regarding declaration of property A is pending in Court X, and the same parties file another suit in Court Y for the same dispute, Court Y will stay Suit B under Section 10.
Section 11 CPC – Res Judicata
- Purpose: Prevents re-litigation of a matter already decided.
- Key Point: Once a court has finally decided a case between the same parties on the same issue, they cannot file another suit on that issue.
- Focus: Decided cases.
- Effect: The second suit is barred and will be dismissed.
Example:
If a property case is decided by Court A, the losing party cannot file a new case in Court B over the same property between the same parties.
