It is well known that Satkari Mookerjee proposed a theory about the three-stage development of the apoha theory. However, the famous three stages including the view of the positivist (vidhivādin) and that of the negativist (pratiṣeḍhavādin) were not explained by Mookerjee, though they are proposed in a modified version offered by Yuichi Kajiyama. I reexamine the three-stage theory and reinvestigate Dhamottara’s apoha theory.