In Brief
The appellant sought rejection of a plaint claiming leasehold rights and injunctive relief under Order VII Rule 11 CPC, alleging it was barred by res judicata from two earlier dismissed suits. The Supreme Court held that res judicata—involving mixed questions of law and fact—cannot be determined summarily without evidence. Courts must confine themselves to the plaint's averments; defenses in the written statement cannot be examined at this threshold stage. Relief based on a different cause of action cannot be rejected merely because earlier suits on different issues failed. Maintainability issues should be framed as preliminary questions and decided after evidence. The Court dismissed the appeal, affirming the trial court and High Court's rejection of the defendant's application."
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