In Brief
Lekh Raj's heirs challenged execution of a 1965 decree granting customary land rights, arguing the decree became null after the 1973 amendment to the Punjab Custom Act retrospectively abolished those rights. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that a final decree crystallizes parties' rights and cannot be challenged on grounds of subsequent law changes at the execution stage. The proper course is to file a second appeal while the original judgment is pending. Here, the decree had become final in 1965, eight years before the 1973 amendment, so the law change did not affect it. Additionally, factual objections cannot be raised for the first time in execution; they must be raised in the original suit trial. The executing Court cannot go behind a finalized decree.
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