Doctrine of Estoppel is that provision which prohibits a person from giving false evidence by preventing them from making contradicting statements in a Court of Law. The objective of this doctrine is to avert the commission of fraud by one person against another person. This doctrine holds a person accountable for false representations made by him, either through his words or through his conduct.

The principle of estoppel says that a man cannot blow hot and cold, or again, that a man shall not say one thing at one time and later on say a different thing.

Section – 115. Estoppel

When one person has, by his declaration, act or omission, intentionally caused or permitted another person to believe a thing to be true and to act upon such belief, neither he nor his representative shall be allowed, in any suit or proceeding between himself and such person or his representative, to deny the truth of that thing.

Illustration

A intentionally and falsely leads B to believe that certain land belongs to A, and thereby induces B to buy and pay for it.

The land afterwards becomes the property of A, and A seeks to set aside the sale on the ground that, at the time the sale, he had not title. He must not be allowed to prove his want to title.

Concept of Estoppel is based on the maxim, alleganscontraria non estaudiendus (a person alleging contradictory facts should not be heard) and is that kind of proesumptio juris et de jure, where the fact presumed is taken to be true, not as against all the world, but as against a particular party, and that only by reason of some act done, it is in truth a kind of argumentum ad hominern.

Example:

1. Shashi want to buy a farmhouse , he contacted Rahul for that purpose. Rahul said he has a farmhouse in Meerut which he wants to sells. Shashi purchased it but found Rahul have no title over it and there is partition aces is going on. After sometime Rahul won the case and now have the title of the property .Now must transfer the title of farmhouse to Shashi , he cannot contradicts now

2. If Kumar is an employee of company XYZ Corporation but in court, he denies to be an employee of that company, then, later on he could not claim the salaries and emoluments from that company.

Principles of Estoppel

Conditions for application of Doctrine of Estoppel
The following conditions are to be satisfied in order to apply the doctrine of estoppel:

1.The representation must be made by one person to another person.

2.The representation made must be as to facts and not as to the law.

3.The representation must be made as to an existing fact.

4.The representation must be made in a manner which makes the other person believe that it is true.

5.The person to whom the representation is being made must act upon that belief.

6.The person to whom the representation would be made should suffer a loss by such representation.

In Pickardv. Sears, it was held that..

“Where one by his words or conductwillfully causes another to believe the existence of a certain state of things and induces him to act on that belief so as to alter his own previous position, the former is concluded from averring against the later a different state of things as existing at the same time.”

Representation of the existence of a fact may arise in any way in the form of declaration, act or omission. The representation also covers statements, either oral or written and conduct, either active or passive. It also includes negligence.

The person who made the representation should not be allowed to deny or repudiate the effect of his former statement to the loss and injury of the person who acted on it .

Representation of a mere intention cannot amount to an estoppel. It must be related to the existing facts. This was led in the case of Sunder lal V. Suna AIR 1956 SC

A Representation to constitute estoppel must be certain and clear

Nature of estoppel

The legal principle of the doctrine of estoppel is viewed as a substantive rule of law, albeit, it has been described as a principle under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

Estoppel By Conduct

Estoppel by conduct means when a person through agreement, misrepresentation or negligence makes the other person believe in certain things upon which the other person had taken some action causing a change in their current situation, then the first person cannot deny the veracity of the statements given by him in the latter stages.

An example of the Estoppel by Conduct is in the case of Mahboob Saheb v. Syed Ismail 1995 SC. In this case , the son of the muslim father attested the deed in the sale of land by his father. The son at the time of attesting the deed raised no questions, although he knew that it was against his interest. So later when he filed a suit he was estopped from challenging the sale

Estoppel By Record

Estoppel by Record is also known as Estoppel by judgement. Res judicata is one of the dimensions of this estoppel.

Alike res judicata once a court has given the judgement, the parties, their representatives, their executors, etc. all are bound by that decision. This doctrine stops the parties to a case, from raising another suit in the same matter or to dispute the facts of the case after the decision has been made by the court.

This doctrine has been dealt in: · Section 11 to 14 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and Section 40 to 44 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

Estoppel By Deed

It is the concept where two parties enter into an agreement by way of a deed as to certain facts. This implies that neither he nor his representatives or any person claiming under him can deny the facts mentioned and agreed in the deed

Estoppel By Pais

It is contrary to the doctrine of Estoppel by Deed. In this case , the property is transferred but the deed is not signed.

Estoppel By Negligence

This doctrine allows one party to claim a right over the property of another party who might not be having the possession of it . This reflects that the person being stopped owes a duty to the other person whom he had led into wrong belief

Equitable Estoppel

The Evidence Act is not exhaustive of the rules of estoppel. Thus, although S. 116 only deals with the estoppel that arises against a tenant or licensee, a similar estoppel has been held to arise against a mortgagee, an executor, a legatee, a trustee, or an assignee of property, precluding him from denying the title of the mortgagor, the testator, the author of the trust, or the assignor, as the case may be.

Exceptions to Estoppel

Following are the exceptions to the doctrine of estoppel

1. This doctrine does not apply when both parties have the entire knowledge of the things in their matter.
2. Estoppel cannot be applied against statutes and regulations. It should not come in conflict with the statutes and regulations.
3. It would not apply to cases where one party has exceeded his power while acting or taking a decision.
4. It cannot be applied against the sovereign acts or the government.

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