As per case facts, the appellant challenged orders rejecting their preliminary objection that proceedings to declare certain Rozas (shrines) as public trusts were barred by res judicata. The appellant claimed ... prior decisions from 1931, 1965, and 1967 had already established these Rozas as private trusts. However, lower courts, relying on precedents concerning a similar Roza, rejected this plea for the Broach and Surat Rozas. The appellant appealed this rejection, arguing the earlier judgments created a binding precedent. The question arose whether the earlier decisions, particularly the 1931 judgment declaring the wakf as 'private', and the 1967 decision, operated as res judicata, especially considering the statutory definition of 'public wakf' changed with the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950. Finally, the Supreme Court held that the earlier findings were either collateral/incidental or were superseded by subsequent judicial pronouncements and statutory changes. Specifically, the expanded definition of 'public wakf' in the 1950 Act rendered the 1931 classification of the wakf as 'private' non-binding for current proceedings. Consequently, the plea of res judicata was rejected, and the Assistant Charity Commissioner was directed to proceed with the inquiry on merits for the Broach and Surat Rozas.