The following Order of the Court was delivered:
This special leave petition arises from the judgment of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, made on September 18, 1996 in Second Appeal No.215 of 1987. Admittedly, both the petitioner and the respondents had filed civil suits claiming damages against each other. The petitioner’s suit was dismissed and the respondents’ suit was also dismissed by the trial Court but on appeal filed by the respondents, it was allowed and was decreed for recovery of Rs.24,875/-. The petitioner filed second appeal against the decree which was admitted. However, the petitioner did not carry the matter in second appeal against his suit for damages and was content with filing an appeal against the decree of damages granted against him. The High Court recording the findings has held thus:
"Thus, on the basis of the
aforesaid factual as well as legal
proposition, it can safely be said
that where two connected suits have
been tried together and the
findings recorded in one of he suit
have become final in absence of an
appeal, the appeal preferred
against the findings recorded in
the other suit would definitely be
barred by the principles of res
judicata. This is the ratio of the
above cited case law decided by the
apex Court of the country. Thus,
there is absolutely no necessity to
go into other aspects of the
appeal, especially when on factual
side, as detailed above, the
decree, not appealed against by the
present appellant, passed by the
first appellate Court, has become
final between the parties, which
has created a legal bar for the
maintainability of the present
appeal whereby the decree passed in
the other suit has been assailed."
It would be obvious that since the claims of the petitioner and the respondents have arisen from the same cause of action and the finding of the appellate Court that damages had accurred to the respondents due to misfeasance or malfeasance having been allowed to become final, the decree which is subject matter of the special leave petition cannot be assailed. The self same question was directly in issue and was the subject matter of both the suits. The same having been allowed to become final, it cannot be gone into since the same had attained finality, the petitioner having not filed any appeal against the appeal dismissing the suit. In view of this situation, the High Court was right in concluding that the decree of dismissal of the suit against the petitioner would operate as res judicata under Section 11 CPC in the appeal against which the petitioner has filed the second appeal.
The special leave petition is accordingly dismissed.