Doctrine of merger is a common law doctrine

It must be stated here that the doctrine of merger is a common lawCommon law The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on court decisions rather than statutes passed by the legislature. doctrine, which is based on the principle of propriety in our present hierarchy of the justice delivery system. It Is not a doctrine laying down a principle of any universal application and merely where there are two orders one of the inferior authority and another by the superior authority passed in an appeal or revision, it would not necessarily mean a merger of the two orders, irrespective of the subject matter or even irrespective of orders passed in the appeal or revision.

 The doctrine of merger has been thoroughly discussed in Kunhayammed and Others Vs. State of Kerala and Another[AIR 2000 SC 2587] by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, where the Hon’ble Apex Court has, inter alia, stated thus:

12. The logic underlying the doctrine of merger is that there cannot be more than one decree or operative orders governing the same subject-matter at a given point of timeTime Where any expression of it occurs in any Rules, or any judgment, order or direction, and whenever the doing or not doing of anything at a certain time of the day or night or during a certain part of the day or night has an effect in law, that time is, unless it is otherwise specifically stated, held to be standard time as used in a particular country or state. (In Physics, time and Space never exist actually-“quantum entanglement”). When a decree or order passed by an inferior court, tribunal or authority was subjected to a remedy available under the law before a superior forum then, though the decree or order under challenge continues to be effecting and binding, nevertheless its finality is put in jeopardy. Once the superior court has disposed of the lis before it either way -whether the decree or order under appeal is set aside or modified or simply confirmed, it is the decree or order of the superior court, tribunal or authority which is the final, binding and operative decree or order wherein merges the decree or order passed by the court, tribunal or the authority below. However, the doctrine is not of universal or unlimited application. The nature of jurisdictionJurisdiction Authority by which courts receive and decide cases. Limited Jurisdiction: the authority over only particular types of cases, or cases under a prescribed amount in controversy, or seeking only certain types of relief, the District Court is a court of limited jurisdiction. Original Jurisdiction: Jurisdiction of the first court to hear a case. exercised by the superior forum and the content or subject-matter of challenge laid or which could have been laid shall have to be kept in view.