Ex parte foreign judgment without evidence is not on the merits and cannot found enforcement in court.

A foreign judgment relied on as the sole foundation of a suit was held unenforceable because it was an ex parte decree entered without evidence or judicial consideration of the plaintiff's case. Section 13 of the Civil Procedure Code applies to foreign judgments whether used defensively or as the basis of a claim, and Section 14 only raises a presumption of competence. The decisive requirement was that the judgment be on the merits, meaning the foreign court must have applied its mind to the truth or falsity of the claim. A decree passed as a matter of course on the pleadings did not meet that standard, so the suit failed.

---

---

Issues: Whether an ex parte foreign judgment, obtained without evidence and relied on as the sole foundation of the suit, is a judgment on the merits so as to entitle the plaintiff to a decree in a British Indian Court.

Analysis: Section 13 of the Civil Procedure Code applies to a foreign judgment not only when set up as a defence but also when relied on as the basis of a suit, subject to the statutory exceptions. Section 14 raises a presumption of competence, but the decisive question here was whether the Singapore decree was one given on the merits. A judgment on the merits requires application of the Court's mind to the truth or falsity of the plaintiff's case. Where the foreign court entered judgment as a matter of course on the pleadings, without requiring proof and without any judicial consideration of the evidence, the decree cannot be treated as one on the merits. The Court preferred the view that an ex parte decree passed without evidence does not satisfy that requirement, and therefore cannot found a decree in a British Indian Court.

Conclusion: The ex parte Singapore judgment was not a judgment on the merits and could not support the suit.

Final Conclusion: The plaintiff failed to establish an enforceable basis for recovery on the foreign judgment, and the suit was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: An ex parte foreign judgment entered without judicial consideration of evidence is not a judgment on the merits for the purpose of enforceability in a British Indian Court.

---