In Brief
Three family members filed a suit seeking declaration of ownership and permanent injunction over agricultural land in Tamil Nadu. The trial court and first appellate court both decreed the suit, finding the plaintiffs had proved their ownership. The High Court's second appeal was admitted on a single question about res judicata from an earlier litigation with different parties. The High Court allowed that appeal and dismissed the suit. The Supreme Court held that the High Court had erred: it had failed to frame any substantial question of law on the critical issue of ownership, thereby exceeding its jurisdiction under Section 100 CPC by examining ownership without proper framing. The Court remanded the case to the High Court to redecide the second appeal by properly framing substantial questions of law on ownership and then examining the lower courts' findings on their merits."
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