Registration of awards and res judicata: true construction controls registrability, and jurisdictional reasons do not bind on unadjudicated issues.

An award requires registration only if, on its true construction, it itself purports or operates to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish an interest in immovable property under the Registration Act, 1908. Here, the disputed clause was treated as preserving the existing contractual position until payment, so the award was not a registrable instrument and was not affected by Section 49. The earlier jurisdictional ruling did not make the construction of the award res judicata, because that issue was not finally adjudicated and reasons supporting a refusal of jurisdiction do not bind as res judicata on matters beyond the court's competence. Section 11 CPC therefore did not apply.

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Issues: (i) whether the award, on its true construction, was a non-testamentary instrument creating, declaring, assigning, limiting or extinguishing any right, title or interest in immovable property so as to require registration; (ii) whether the earlier decision on jurisdiction rendered the construction of the award res judicata between the parties.

Issue (i): whether the award, on its true construction, was a non-testamentary instrument creating, declaring, assigning, limiting or extinguishing any right, title or interest in immovable property so as to require registration.

Analysis: The relevant test under Section 17(1)(b) of the Registration Act, 1908 was whether the instrument itself purported or operated to create or transfer an interest in immovable property. The disputed clause in the award was construed as preserving an existing contractual position until payment of the stipulated sums, rather than as creating a fresh proprietary interest. The use of the word "ownership" did not alter the substance of the clause, which pointed to continuance of the status quo.

Conclusion: The award did not require registration and was not hit by Section 49 of the Registration Act, 1908.

Issue (ii): whether the earlier decision on jurisdiction rendered the construction of the award res judicata between the parties.

Analysis: The prior proceedings decided only the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the application to file the award. The construction of the award was merely a reason for that jurisdictional conclusion and was not itself an issue finally adjudicated. A decision refusing jurisdiction cannot make its reasons binding as res judicata on a matter the court had no competence to determine. Section 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 did not assist the appellant, and no broader principle of res judicata applied.

Conclusion: The construction of the award was not res judicata between the parties.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed, and the order directing the award to be filed and made a decree of the court was sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: An instrument requires registration only when, on its true construction, it itself purports or operates to create or transfer an interest in immovable property, and a jurisdictional ruling does not make binding as res judicata the reasons given for that ruling on an issue not actually decided.

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