Judgment on admissions cannot extend to distinct monetary claims, but prior title findings can support possession relief.
Order XII Rule 6 CPC permits judgment on admissions only where the admitted or conclusively determined issue is fit for summary disposal. Where title and ownership had already been adjudicated in favour of one party, that prior determination supported a decree for possession without fresh trial. The provision could not, however, be extended to a separate claim for recovery of money and future damages that had not been independently adjudicated. The monetary relief was therefore treated separately and compensation was fixed on the facts to avoid remand, while possession was sustained on the basis of the earlier title finding.
Issues: (i) Whether a decree for possession could be passed under Order XII Rule 6 of the Code of Civil Procedure on the basis of the earlier adjudication of title and ownership. (ii) Whether the decree could also extend to the claim for recovery of money and future damages.
Issue (i): Whether a decree for possession could be passed under Order XII Rule 6 of the Code of Civil Procedure on the basis of the earlier adjudication of title and ownership.
Analysis: Order XII Rule 6 permits judgment on admissions at any stage of the suit where facts are admitted in the pleadings or otherwise, and the power is discretionary. The earlier adjudication had already decided ownership in favour of the respondent, and that issue did not require fresh determination in the possession suit. The appellant's contrary claim could not dislodge the respondent's title for the purpose of possession.
Conclusion: The decree for possession was rightly sustained and is in favour of the respondent.
Issue (ii): Whether the decree could also extend to the claim for recovery of money and future damages.
Analysis: The claim for recovery of Rs. 5,55,000 and future damages had not been adjudicated in the earlier proceedings or independently decided in the present suit. A decree on admissions could not be enlarged to cover a distinct monetary claim merely because ownership stood established. The amount was nonetheless fixed on the facts of the case to avoid remand.
Conclusion: The monetary claim could not be decreed on the same basis as possession, but the amount of Rs. 5,00,000 was treated as just compensation for damages.
Final Conclusion: The appeal failed overall, though the relief was moulded by sustaining possession in favour of the respondent and fixing compensation for use and occupation without remanding the matter.
Ratio Decidendi: A court may grant judgment on admissions under Order XII Rule 6 only to the extent that the admitted or conclusively determined issue is fit for summary disposal, and it should not use that provision to decree distinct unanswered monetary claims.
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