Order II Rule 2 bar did not prevent amendment to add defamation damages claim in a pending suit.

Dismissal of a prior suit as barred by Order II Rule 2 CPC did not decide the damages claim on merits and therefore did not attract res judicata under Section 11 CPC. The Court held that the plaintiff could still seek the same relief by amendment in the pending injunction suit, including a claim for damages for defamation. Accordingly, the proposed amendment was not barred on the grounds of Order II Rule 2 or res judicata, and the challenge to the amendment failed.

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Issues: Whether dismissal of a separate suit as barred by Order II Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 precluded amendment of the pending suit to add the same relief.

Analysis: The pending petition challenged the order permitting amendment of a plaint in a suit for injunction so as to add a claim for damages for defamation. A prior suit for the same damages had been rejected as barred by Order II Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. The Court held that such dismissal did not amount to a decision on the merits of the damages claim and therefore did not operate as res judicata under Section 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. The rejection of the earlier suit on the ground of Order II Rule 2 did not bar the plaintiff from seeking the same relief by amendment in the pending suit.

Conclusion: The amendment was not barred on the ground of Order II Rule 2 or res judicata, and the challenge on that score failed.

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