If, therefore, there was a dispute in respect of the house with which they had intermeddled, they could be brought on record as legal representatives in respect of that part of the estate. If, however, the dispute relates to a property in which they had not intermeddled, they cannot be considered to be his legal representatives in respect of that item of property. This view of law would find; support from the observations made in Lalsa Rai v. Udit Rai, AIR 1924 All 717 and Firm Balkishan v. Jatnabai, AIR 1938 Nag 298.
The next case decided in this Court, to which our attention has been drawn in that of Lalsa Rai v. Udit Rai A.I.R. 1924 All. 717, decided by a learned Single Judge of this Court (Gokul Prasad, J.). A portion of the judgment of the learned Judge is worth quotation. It is as follows:
There is authority for the proposition that when a person intermeddles with the property of the deceased, he is a legal representative of the deceased for the purposes of procedure to the extent of the property with which he has intermeddled, but that does not mean that the intermeddler becomes representative of the deceased for purposes of succession to the property. Such a person is "legal representative" under section 2(11) of the Civil Procedure Code, but only for purposes of procedure. The definition is for the purposes of adjective law and does not alter the rule of substantive law. Simply because an intermeddler is joined as a party to the suit for recovery of possession, no relief can be given to him and he cannot be treated on the same footing as the real heir of the deceased (vide Lalsa Rai v. Udit Rai, AIR 1925 All 717).