Bona fide representation in common-right litigation binds all members and bars a res judicata challenge to execution.

A decree passed against an association was held binding on all members where the suit had in substance been defended by office-bearers and a member acting bona fide for the common right. The absence of a formal order under Order 1 Rule 8 CPC did not, by itself, make the decree a nullity because the decisive question was actual, good-faith representation and not mere procedural compliance. Explanation VI to Section 11 CPC therefore applied, and the members could not resist execution on the ground of want of formal leave. The objection was barred by res judicata, and the decree for ejectment remained enforceable against the association and its members.

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Issues: Whether a decree passed in proceedings where the defendants were represented by office-bearers and a member of the association, though no formal permission under Order 1 Rule 8 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 was obtained, bound all members of the association and precluded an objection to execution under Section 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

Analysis: The suit had been defended throughout by the manager, president and a member of the association, the trial court and the appellate court having proceeded on that basis. The later challenge that the decree was a nullity rested on the absence of formal leave under Order 1 Rule 8. The Court held that procedural provisions serve substantive justice and that the relevant inquiry is whether the persons interested were in fact represented bona fide. On the facts, the association had been duly represented, the litigation was conducted in good faith, and there was no collusion or negligent abandonment of the defence. Explanation VI to Section 11 therefore applied, because persons litigating bona fide in respect of a right claimed in common bind all persons interested in that right.

Conclusion: The decree was not a nullity, the members of the association were bound by it, and the objection to execution was barred by res judicata.

Final Conclusion: The decree for ejectment was enforceable against the association and its members, and the appellant was entitled to execute it and recover possession.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a body of persons is in substance and bona fide represented in earlier litigation by authorised office-bearers or members, the resulting decree binds all persons interested in the common right, and the absence of a formal order under Order 1 Rule 8 does not, by itself, render the decree a nullity or defeat res judicata.

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