Foreign ex parte decree must be on the merits to support a suit in India under Section 13 CPC.

A foreign ex parte decree is conclusive under Section 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure only if it is shown to have been decided on the merits. A decree passed merely because the defendant did not appear, without evidence being recorded or the claim being judicially examined for truth or falsity, is not a decision on the merits. Non-appearance alone does not amount to an admission of the claim. Where the foreign court has not adjudicated the claim on evidence, the decree cannot support a suit in India and is not maintainable as a basis for enforcement or recognition.

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Issues: Whether a foreign ex parte decree, passed without any evidence being recorded and merely because the defendant did not appear, is a judgment on the merits within Section 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure so as to support a suit in India on the basis of that decree.

Analysis: Section 13 makes a foreign judgment conclusive only if it answers the statutory requirements, including that it must have been given on the merits of the case. A decree passed merely for default of appearance, without application of mind to the truth or falsity of the claim and without consideration of evidence, is not a decision on the merits. Non-appearance of the defendant does not by itself amount to an admission of the claim. A foreign judgment can be treated as on the merits only where the foreign court has adjudicated upon the claim after considering evidence, even if the defendant remained ex parte.

Conclusion: The foreign decree was not on the merits and could not form the basis of a maintainable suit in India; the finding against maintainability was correct.

Ratio Decidendi: For Section 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure, a foreign ex parte decree is conclusive only if the foreign court has actually adjudicated the claim on evidence and not merely decreed it by default of appearance.

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