JUDGMENT

Anil Kshetarpal, J. - The defendant-appellant is in the regular second appeal against the judgment passed by the learned first appellate court reversing the judgment of the learned trial court resulting in decreeing the suit filed by the plaintiff-respondent.

2. The questions which require consideration are as under:-

(i) Whether in absence of any cogent evidence, the court can infer/assume fraud in the conduct of the proceedings in the previous suit and on that basis set aside the judgment and decree passed by the court in the previous suit with the consent of the parties?

(ii) Whether non-disclosure of pending suit between the parties is fatal to the result of the suit under Order 7, Rule 1(j) of the Code of Civil Procedure ('for short 'CPC) as applicable to the States of Punjab, Haryana and UT Chandigarh?

3. Some facts are required to be noticed. Paras Ram, a common ancestor of the parties, was having five sons namely Lekha, Har Narain, Nand Ram, Jal Singh and Bohri Lal. Lekha was a childless bachelor. Jal Singh has a son namely Rambir. Rambir initially filed a Civil Suit No. 701 of 1998 on 09.11.1998, pleading that in a family settlement which took place one year back,