Kinds of Estoppel under the Indian Evidence Law

Kinds / Types of Estoppel

1)  Estoppel by record

When a competent court gives any judgement and the affected party does not appeal in the higher court within a given time period, than that person's right to appeal is restricted and nor he or any of his legal representatives cannot appeal regarding the same issue. This is also known as estoppel by judgement.

2)  Estoppel by deed

If any party in a contract or agreement prepares a deed or a sealed deed and formally executes that deed, then that deed cannot be challenged on the basis of facts. But if the deed is based on fraud intention or misrepresentation, only than it can be challenged.

3)  Estoppel in pais

"Pais" means "before the public." This is also called as estopped "by conduct" or by "matter in pais."

When any person by his conduct portrays or represents a particular position in front of public or in front of any other person or party then that person is bound by that position, and he cannot sent it.

4)  Equitable Estoppel 

This basically means that if a person forgives another person for any action then he cannot later take legal action against that person for the same issue for which he has forgiven him.

Let's see this with an example:-

'X' person breaks 'Y' person's laptop. 'Y' forgives 'X' but later 'Y' takes legal action against 'X' for the same thing. 

Now with this a conflict gets created between statement of forgiveness and the legal actions taken. Therefore court estops a person from taking any legal actions on the same issues in which the person has already forgiven.

5)  Issue Estoppel

Any issue which has already been heard in a court proceeding, that same issue cannot be brought again in the proceeding.

6)  Estoppel by pleadings

The pleadings which were not raised in a "writ petition" cannot be raised for "hearing" in a court.

7)  Allotees of shops

This basically means that once you enjoyed or took any benefit of The possession of a property that you were allotted you cannot thereafter complaint.

In a case Vijay Raj Kailash vs state of Rajasthan, a shop was allotted to a person through auction. The person conducted trading activities in that shop for a long period of time but later he complaint that the shop was not usable, so court held  that as he enjoyed the possession of that shop allotted and conducted activity and got business benefit thereafter he cannot complaint about the possession. 

8)  Flat in joint ownership

If two or more persons are joint owners of a flat then any of them cannot deny that the other person is not a joint owner of that flat.

In a case Sunita Shankar vs Laxman Shankar, the husband and wife were joint owners of a flat but after divorce the husband denied that the wife was a joint owner of that flat, the court estopped the husband from denying that the wife had joint ownership.

9)  Joint monthly income scheme account post           office.

In a joint account, if anyone of the joint depositors dies then his share will not be taken by the other joint depositor but it will go to the nominee of that deceased joint depositor.

10)  Caste Certificate

If any cast certificate has been used by three generations of a family then the government cannot challenge that caste certificate based on any error in that cast certificate.

Reference:-

Textbook - Principles of the law of Evidence, Fifteenth Edition by Dr. Avtar Singh.