JUDGMENT :

Dama Seshadri Naidu, J.

Introduction:

1. A landlord files a suit for eviction, compromises with the defendants, and secures a consent decree. Later he complains that the defendants have violated the consent terms. So he files an execution petition, gets them evicted, and takes possession - all in one day. The next day, a third party comes to court, claiming to be the original tenant. But before her application gets disposed of, the landlord inducts another person as a tenant. The court, then, finds the decree collusive and allows the original tenant to recover possession.

2. Now the original tenant and the newly inducted tenant fight it out. Of course, the landlord remains distant and detached - callously.

3. To decide who should possess the property, I must address these issues:

The Questions:

(a) Does the order the original tenant has secured against the landlord bind the subsequent tenant who is entirely unaware of the previous court proceedings?

(b) Does the doctrine of lis pendens apply to the post-decree proceedings?

(c) Can an application under Order XXI, Rule 97 or 99 be treated as a suit for applying the lis pendens doctrine?

(d) To determine the beginning of a lis, what