Res judicata in injunction suits bars later title claims when ownership was directly and substantially in issue earlier.

In a suit for injunction, where rival claims to ownership and possession are directly and substantially involved, the determination on title operates as res judicata in a later suit between the same parties or their privies. Matters that could and ought to have been raised in the earlier proceedings are also barred by constructive res judicata under Explanation IV. The prior decree therefore precluded the subsequent title-based suit, and the challenge failed.

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Issues: Whether the earlier judgment in the suit for injunction operated as res judicata or constructive res judicata in the subsequent suit based on title and sale deed.

Analysis: The former suit, though framed as one for injunction, necessarily involved the rival claims of ownership and right to possession over the house. The husband's claim to execute a mortgage and seek protection of possession depended on his asserted title, while the wife had set up a competing claim based on the alleged settlement in the village panchayat. The absence of a specific title issue did not matter because the question of ownership was directly and substantially involved in deciding the injunction claim. In addition, matters that could and ought to have been raised in the former suit, including the availability of a plea for possession based on title, attracted constructive res judicata under Explanation IV.

Conclusion: The earlier decree barred the subsequent suit, and the plea of res judicata and constructive res judicata succeeded against the appellant.

Final Conclusion: The appeals failed and the High Court's decision dismissing the appellant's suit and upholding the respondents' claim was sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: In a suit for injunction, if title is directly and substantially involved in deciding the relief, the decision on that issue operates as res judicata in a later suit between the same parties or their privies, and matters that ought to have been raised earlier are also barred by constructive res judicata.

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