Res judicata by ex parte decree bars a later suit where the same title and property are in issue.

An ex parte decree, if passed on due service and not set aside, can operate as res judicata under Section 11 CPC. The doctrine applies where the matter in the subsequent suit was directly and substantially in issue in the former suit, the earlier decision was final, and the parties or their privies litigated under the same title. Here, the purchaser claimed through the original owner against whom the ex parte decree had been passed, the later suit concerned the same property and title, and no fraud or collusion was pleaded. The earlier decree therefore barred the subsequent suit.

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Issues: Whether an ex parte decree passed in the earlier suit, during the pendency of the later suit, operated as res judicata against the subsequent suit filed by the purchaser from the judgment-debtor.

Analysis: Section 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure requires, inter alia, that the matter directly and substantially in issue in the subsequent suit must have been directly and substantially in issue in a former suit, that it must have been heard and finally decided, that the parties or their privies must be the same, and that they must have litigated under the same title. An ex parte decree, once passed on due service and not set aside, is a final decision after hearing and is as effective as a decree passed after contest, unless vitiated by fraud. The appellant claimed through the original owner against whom the ex parte decree had been passed, and the later suit was based on the same title to the same property. The absence of a plea of fraud or collusion and the finality of the earlier decree supported application of the doctrine.

Conclusion: The ex parte decree in the former suit operated as res judicata, and the subsequent suit was barred.

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