Harihar Prasad Singh And Ors vs Balmiki Prasad Singh And Ors on 10 December, 1974
If this is the discernible principle underlying order
22, rules 3 and 4 it has been demonstrably established by
interpretation put on these two rules. Original view was
that all legal representatives of a deceased plaintiff or
defendant must be substituted on the pain of the action
abating. With utmost diligence from a multitude some one may
escape notice and the consequent hardship in abatement of
action led this Court to assert the principle that where
some legal representatives are brought on record permitting
an inference that the estate is adequately represented, the
action would not abate though it would be the duty of the
other side to bring those legal representatives on record
who are overlooked or missed even at a later date. When the
aforementioned two provisions speak of legal representatives
it only means that if after diligent and bona fide enquiry
the party liable to bring the legal representatives on
record ascertains who are the legal representatives of a
deceased party and brings them on record within the time
limited by law, there is no abatement of the suit or appeal
on the ground that some other legal representatives have not
been brought on record, because the impleaded legal
representatives sufficiently represent the estate of the
deceased and the decision would bind not only those
impleaded but the entire estate including the interest of
those not brought on record. This view has been consistently
adopted by this Court in Daya Ram & Ors. v. Shyam Sundari
(1) N. K. Mohammad Sulaiman v. N. C. Mohammad Ismail &
Ors.;(2) and Harihar Prasad Singh & Ors. v. Balmiki Prasad
Singh & Ors.(3) The principle deducible from these decisions
is that not only the interest of the deceased was adequately
taken care of by those who were on record but they had the
opportunity to put forth their case within permissible
limits. Neither the case of the deceased nor of his
successors in-interest has gone by default. In other words,
the principle is that if thd deceased had as a party a right
to put forth his case, those likely to be affected by the
decision on death of the deceased had the same opportunity
to put forth their case and even if from a large number
having identical interest some are not brought on record
those who are brought on record would adequately take care
of their interest and the cause in the absence of some such
would not abate. In legal parlance this procedure affords an
opportunity of being heard in all its ramification before a
decision on the pending list is taken.