( 1 ) THE only question argued in this appeal was a question of res judicata and, in the end, the only ground on which the bar of 'res judicata' was sought to be avoided was that the decision in the earlier suit was a decision of a Court which was not competent to try the subsequent suit out of which the appeal had arisen.

( 2 ) THE facts are not many and may be briefly stated. A two-storied building, known as 69, Park Street, is admittedly situated within the limits of the ordinary original civil jurisdiction of this Court and in 1951, the Appellants, who may be compendiously called the Hickies, were admittedly in occupation of both the upper and lower flats as tenants. The premises belong to the Trust Estate N. B. Elias and R. O. Cohen and the trustee of the trust is the Official Trustee of West Bengal. In 1951, the Official Trustee brought two suits for ejectment against the Appellants, one in respect of the upper flat and one in respect of the lower, on the basis that there were two several tenancies in respect of the two flats and that both the tenancies had been determined by notices to quit. In both the suits, it was alleged that no rent had been paid s