Res judicata and pending appeal: a decree subject to appeal is not finally binding while the appeal remains pending.

A decree made final only subject to appeal does not attain unqualified finality while an appeal is pending. In that position, it cannot operate as res judicata between the same parties to bar a later suit, because the earlier decree remains under challenge and is not finally binding for that purpose. The qualification for appeal prevents the decree from being treated as conclusively settled during the appellate process, although this does not allow a party to recover judgment twice over on the same claim. The later suit was therefore not barred on the footing of finality.

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Issues: Whether a decree passed subject to appeal is final between the parties so as to operate as res judicata and bar a subsequent suit while the appeal is pending.

Analysis: Section 207 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1889 made decrees final only subject to appeal where an appeal is allowed. The appeal qualification prevented the decree from attaining unqualified finality during the pendency of the appeal. Accordingly, a decree under challenge could not be treated as finally binding between the same parties for the purpose of res judicata. The Court further indicated that this did not permit a party to obtain judgment twice over for the same claim, but the pendency of the appeal meant the earlier decree could not, by itself, bar the later suit on the footing of finality.

Conclusion: A decree subject to appeal and actually appealed from is not final in the res judicata sense as between the same parties, and the second suit was not barred on that ground.

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