TARA CHAND Vs. JAI DEV

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition for revision of an order dated the 29th of September, 1977, passed by Shri H.R. Nohria, Subordinate Judge Ist Class, Amritsar has arisen in circumstances which may be better appreciated with reference to the following pedigree table :

(2.) After the death of Krishna Rani which occurred on 2nd of July, 1970, Maha Vir defendant No. 4 instituted a suit against the plaintiff and defendant Nos. 1 to 3 praying for a decree for permanent injunction restraining defendant Nos. 1 to 3 from selling a property which was owned by Krishna Rani during her life time on the plea that she had willed it away in favour of Maha Vir. Thereafter, the plaintiff filed the suit in which the impugned order has been made praying for specific performance of a contract of sale which he alleged to have entered into between himself on the one hand and defendant Nos. 1 and 2 on the other in respect of the same property. The case of defendant No. 4 in the suit last mentioned is that he is the owner of the property by virtue of the devise in his favour.

(3.) The defendants in the second suit put in an application under Sections 10 and 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure praying for an order that the suit be stayed. Relying upon Life Pharmaceuticals (Private) Ltd. v. Bengal Medical Hall, 1971 AIR(Cal) 345 M/s. Ful Chand Moti Lal and another v. M/s. Manohar Lall Jetha Lall Mehta, 1973 AIR(Pat) 196 and Messrs C. Raman and Co., Bombay and others v. Messrs Modern Motor Works, Ludhiana, 1973 75 PunLR 529 the learned Subordinate Judge held that if the substratum of the suits was the same or the decision in one would operate as res judicata in the other, the subsequent suit was liable to be stayed. This is why, through the impugned order, he directed the second suit to be stayed.