GANGAI VINAYAGAR TEMPLE Vs. MEENAKSHI AMMAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A maze of facts and events, and a labyrinth of legal conundrums confront us in the course of the determination of this Appeal. Essentially, it is the ambit and sweep of the principle of res judicata that is at the centre of controversy. Additionally, Order II Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure ("CPC" for brevity), which enshrines but another complexion of res judicata, also requires to be cogitated upon. The contention of the Appellant through its Trustees (hereafter referred to as 'Trust') is that the Respondents/Tenants ('Tenants' for brevity) of the demised property are barred by the principle of res judicata from challenging the findings of the Trial Court especially the Trust's ownership of the demised property, since the said Tenants have filed only one appeal, i.e. arising from O.S.6/78, without assailing identical conclusions arrived at by the Trial Court in O.S.5/78 and O.S.7/78.

(2.) The uncontroverted facts are that the husband of the first Respondent/Tenants (namely, Kannaiya Chettiar along with another person Venkatarama Keddiar) the suit land on lease from Sethurama Chettiar on 1.3.1953 for a period of 12 years on a monthly rent of Rs.150/-. The Tenants were permitted to construct a cinema theatre on the suit land at their own cost, which they have done in the name and style of 'Raja Talkies', which is still in existence. In 1959 one of the partners died, resulting in the husband of Respondent No.1 assuming sole proprietorship of 'Raja Talkies'. On 8.11.1967 a fresh Registered Notaire Lease Deed was executed for a period of 15 years commencing from 1.1.1968 between the husband of Respondent No.1 and the Appellant Trust, Gangai Vinayagar Temple through its Trustee's President namely, Shri Sethurama Chettiar.

(3.) The sequel of this first salvo of litigation was the filing of two suits by the Trust, being O.S.6/78 and O.S.7/78, claiming arrears of rent from the Tenants (Respondent Nos. 1 to 6 before us, in which the Transferees were not impleaded) pertaining to the period prior to the transfer of the suit lands by them to the Transferees. Despite the pleadings therein as mentioned above, O.S.5/78 came to be 'dismissed'. O.S.6/78 was partially decreed; whilst O.S.7/78 was dismissed on the ground that the alleged claim of arrears of rent in this suit was not tenable as the said land was part of and encompassed in the suit land which was the subject matter of O.S.6/78 and, accordingly, the claim was covered and subsumed therein. The Tenants have not filed any appeal in respect of O.S.5/78 and O.S.7/78; and the Trust has not filed any appeal on the dismissal of their suit O.S.7/78. All three suits have been decided, after recording of common evidence, by a common Judgment passed on 6.11.1982 by the Court of 2nd Additional District Judge at Pondicherry. Pursuant to this Judgment three different decrees have been drawn.