Res judicata bars fresh company petition where earlier reliefs were rejected and execution was the proper remedy.

A fresh company petition cannot be used to enforce or execute an earlier final order where the subsequent reliefs substantially overlap with claims already raised and rejected. The earlier judgment granted only limited relief, and the remaining claims were treated as refused under Explanation V to Section 11 CPC; the attempted re-litigation was therefore barred by res judicata, constructive res judicata, and Order II Rule 2 CPC. Any grievance for non-compliance with the earlier order had to be pursued through execution under Section 424(3) of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Rules 56 and 57 of the NCLT Rules, 2016, rather than by filing a new petition. The fresh petition was accordingly not maintainable.

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Issues: Whether a fresh company petition could be entertained as a means to enforce or execute the earlier final order and whether such petition was barred by res judicata, constructive res judicata, and Order II Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

Analysis: The reliefs sought in the subsequent petition substantially overlapped with the earlier petition and its amendment application. The earlier final judgment had granted only partial relief and had expressly rejected the remaining reliefs, which were therefore deemed to have been refused under Explanation V to Section 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. The liberty to file a fresh petition was confined to grievances arising from the EGM-directed relief and could not be expanded into a general right to re-litigate settled claims. The proper remedy for non-compliance with the earlier order was execution under Section 424(3) of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Rules 56 and 57 of the NCLT Rules, 2016, not a fresh petition. The petition also amounted to splitting of claims and re-agitation of matters that could and ought to have been pursued earlier.

Conclusion: The fresh company petition was not maintainable and was rightly rejected.

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