Important Legal Definitions

The principle that an interpretation that excludes the jurisdiction of ordinary civil courts must not be readily accepted; an ouster of jurisdiction cannot be presumed and must be established by express words or clear, necessary implication.

In Dhulabhai v. State of Madhya Pradesh, a five-judge Constitution Bench laid down comprehensive tests governing when the jurisdiction of civil courts is barred, emphasizing that exclusion of ordinary court jurisdiction cannot be lightly inferred.