In a particular case, 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.
Estoppel is based on the principle that it would be most inequitable and unjust that if one person had induced another to act as he would not otherwise have done, the person who made the representation should not be allowed to deny the effect of his former statement, to the loss and injury of the person who acted on it.
The burden of proving the ingredients for estoppels lies on the party claiming estoppel.
Estoppel is based on the maxim ‘allegans, contraria non est audiendus’ which means a person alleging contradictory facts should not be heard. Here, the fact presumed is taken to be true, not as against the entire world, but as against a particular party and only by reason of some act done. Estoppel is a rule of civil action. It has no application to criminal proceedings though in such proceedings it would be prejudicial to set up a different version.
