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Important Legal Definitions

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Plurality Opinion

Judicial Orders, Injunctions & Precedents

Definition

An appellate outcome where a majority of judges agree on the final result, but no single line of reasoning or rationale commands the assent of a clear numerical majority of the bench.

Example

In Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, eleven separate opinions were delivered by the thirteen judges; the Chief Justice and other judges prepared a joint summary of conclusions to state the plurality holding on the Basic Structure.