distinguishable because in that case only one suit was filed giving rise to 2 appeals. A filed a suit against B and C which was decreed. B and C preferred separate appeals which were allowed by a common judgment, but the appellate court drew 2 separate decrees. A preferred an appeal against one of the decrees only and after the period of limitation was over, he preferred an appeal against the other decree on insufficient court fee. The High Court held that A should have filed 2 separate appeals and since one of the appeals was time barred, the appeal filed within time was barred by res judicata. This Court held that “there is no question of the application of the principle of res judicata”, because “when there is only one suit, the question of res judicata does not arise at all”. This was put on the ground that “where there has been one trial, one finding, and one decision, there need not be two appeals even though two decrees may have been drawn up”. In our case, there were 2 suits and since the appellate decree in one of the suits had become final, the issues decided therein could not be reopened in the second appeal filed against the decree passed in an appeal arising out of another suit. This precisely is the ground on which Narhari case was distinguished by this Court in Sheodan Singh v. Smt Daryao Kunwar [AIR 1966 SC 1332 : (1966) 3 SCR 300] . It was held therein that where the trial court has decided 2 suits having common
