In Brief
Appellants obtained a 1998 decree for specific performance of a 1986 property sale agreement. During execution in 2001, non-parties claimed independent title via 1990 sale deeds. Appellants had earlier filed two suits (1990) challenging those deeds but allowed them to be dismissed for default and failed restoration attempts. The Court held that while strict res judicata did not apply (no merits decision), broader equitable principles prevented re-litigating abandoned claims. Appellants could not use execution to indirectly challenge title they had opportunity to directly challenge. The decree could not be enforced against respondents whose title was never finally adjudicated. Appeal dismissed, upholding the High Court's decision.
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