Important definitions

Mesne Profits - Section 2(12) of Code says "Mesne Profits" of property means those
profits which the person in wrongful possession of such property actually received or might
with ordinary diligence have received therefrom, together with interest on such profits, but
shall not include profits due to improvements made by the person in wrongful possession.
"The right to possession is a sacred right guaranteed to all law-abiding citizens. When a
person is deprived of his possession he is not only entitled to recover possession but also
damages for wrongful possession by another. The mesne profits are a compensation,
which is penal in nature. The object of awarding a decree for mesne profits is to
compensate the person who has been kept out of possession and deprived of enjoyment
of his property. Thus, `wrongful' possession of the defendant is the essence of a claim for
mense profits."
In Fateh Chand v. Bal Kishan Das, AIR 1963 SC 1405 it was observed that mesne
profits being in the nature of damages, no invariable rule governing their award and
assessment in every case can be laid down and court may mould it according to justice
of the case.
However following principles would ordinarily guide a court for determining the amount of
mesne profits :-
(i) no profit by a person in wrongful possession;
(ii) restoration of status before dispossession of decree holder; &
(iii) use to which the decree-holder would have put the property if he himself was in
possession.

(B) Foreign Judgment - Section 2(5) of Code has defined "Foreign Court" as a court
situated outside India and not established or continued by the authority of the Central
Government. Similarly section 2(6) say "Foreign Judgement" means a judgment of a
foreign Court.
In Shitole v. Sanker Saran, AIR 1962 SC 1737. It was observed that crucial date to
determine whether the judgment is of a foreign court or not is the date of the judgment
and not the date when it is sought to be enforced or executed, so a judgment of a foreign
court at the time of its pronouncement would not cease to be foreign judgment by reason
of the fact that subsequently the foreign territory has become part of the Union of India.

(C) Judgment-debtor. - Section 2(10) of Code of Civil Procedure says -

`Judgment-debtor' means any person against whom a decree has been passed, or an
order capable of execution has been made. Where the decree is passed against a surety,
he is a judgment-debtor within the meaning of this section. On the other hand, a person
who is a party to the suit, but no decree has been passed against him, is not a "judgment-
debtor."

(D) Decree holder. - Then Section 2(3) of Code defines "Decree-holder" as -

`Decree-holder' means any person in whose favour a decree has been passed or an order
capable of execution has been made. From this definition, it is clear that the decree-holder
need not necessarily be the plaintiff. A person who is not a party to the suit but in whose
favour an order capable of execution has been passed is also a decree-holder.

(E) Legal Representative. - The term, `legal representative' has been defined in section
2(11) of the Civil Procedure Code. According to it, `legal representative' means a person
who in law represents the estate of a deceased person, and includes any person who
intermeddles with the estate of the deceased and where a party sues or is sued in a
representative character, the person on whom the estate devolves on the death of the
party so suing or sued.
The above definition is not exhaustive, but illustrative. In order to be a legal representative
under section 2(11), it is not necessary that a person should be a legal heir of a deceased
person or that he should have a beneficial interest in the estate.