In Brief
This case concerned whether a plaint in a suit for partition and possession could be rejected under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC on grounds of res judicata. The plaintiff had been defendant in an earlier possession suit where the Court upheld the sale of his co-owned property by KSFC following mortgage default. The plaintiff then filed a subsequent suit challenging the sale deed's validity. The Supreme Court held that a plaint cannot be rejected under Order 7 Rule 11(d) merely by examining plaint averments; determining res judicata requires comparing pleadings and judgments from the earlier suit—a task beyond Order 7 Rule 11's scope. The appeal was dismissed, but liberty was granted to raise the maintainability issue during trial.
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