ORDER :

1. Leave granted.

2. Heard the learned counsel appearing for the appellant.

3. The appellant is the original defendant. He applied in the suit filed by the respondents for rejection of the plaint under Rule 11 of Order VII of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (For short “CPC”). Written statement was filed by the appellant raising a contention of bar of res-judicata. In the application filed by the appellant under Rule 11 of Order VII of CPC, reliance was placed on several documents/orders of various Courts. The learned Single Judge rejected the plaint under Order VII Rule 11 of the CPC. In the appeal preferred by the respondents/plaintiffs, a Division bench of the High Court has interfered on merits by holding that the finding on the plea of res-judicata recorded by the learned Single Judge was not correct.

4. After having heard the learned counsel appearing for the parties, we find that the plea of res-judicata could not have been gone into on an application made by the appellant under Rule 11 of Order VII of CPC. Apart from pleadings in the earlier suit, several other documents which were relied upon by the appellant in his application under Rule 11 of Order VII of CPC were r