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10. In Mcllkenny Vs. Chief Constable of West Midlands Police Force (1980) 2 All ER 227, the Court of appeal in England struck out the pleading on the ground that the action was an abuse of the process of the Court since it raised an issue identical to that which had been finally determined at the plaintiff's earlier criminal trial. The Court held that even when it is not possible to strike out the plaint on the ground of issue estoppel, the action can be struck out as an abuse of the process of the Court because it is an abuse for a party to relitigate a question or issue which has already been decided against him even though the other party cannot satisfy the strict rule of res judicata or the requirement of issue estoppel.

Issue estoppel may arise where a particular issue forming a necessary ingredient in a cause of action has been litigated and decided and in subsequent proceedings between the same parties involving a different cause of action to which the same issue is relevant, one of the parties seeks to reopen that issue."

12. Relying on Greenhalgh (supra) and Mcllkenny (supra), the Supreme Court in the case of K.K. Modi Vs. K.N. Modi & Ors. (1998) 3 SCC 573 held that "It is an abuse of the process of the Court and contrary to justice and public policy for a party to relitigate the same issue which has already been tried and decided earlier against him.