Procedure where one of several plaintiffs or defendants dies and right to sue survives
Full Text
Where there are more plaintiffs or defendants than one, and any of them dies, and where the right to sue survives to the surviving plaintiff or plaintiffs alone, or against the surviving defendant or defendants alone, the Court shall cause an entry to that effect to be made on the record, and the suit shall proceed at the instance of the surviving plaintiff or plaintiffs, or against the surviving defendant or defendants.
Plain English Summary
Prescribes the procedure when one of multiple co-litigants dies and the right to sue survives entirely to the surviving parties: requires a simple memo and formal entry on the record without needing a formal substitution application.
Key Legal Elements
- Plurality of Parties: Multiple co-plaintiffs or co-defendants.
- Accrual to Surviving Parties Solely: Complete devolution on remaining litigants (e.g., joint tenants, partners, surviving coparceners).
- Entry on Record: Simple formal entry/memo; no 90-day substitution application under Rule 3 or 4 required.
- Suit Proceeds Uninterrupted: No question of abatement arises.
Practical Note
Rule 2 Memo vs. Rule 3/4 Application: When a co-plaintiff or co-defendant dies and their legal heirs are ALREADY on record as co-parties (e.g., father dies and sons are already co-plaintiffs), advocates should file a simple memo under Order XXII Rule 2 requesting an entry on record that the right to sue survives to the existing parties. Do not let the court mistakenly record abatement under Rule 3/4!
हिंदी पाठ
जहां एक से अधिक वादी या प्रतिवादी हैं और उनमें से किसी की मृत्यु हो जाती है, तथा जहां वाद लाने का अधिकार अकेले जीवित वादी या वादियों को अथवा अकेले जीवित प्रतिवादी या प्रतिवादियों के विरुद्ध ही बचा रहता है, वहां न्यायालय पत्रावली पर उस आशय की एक प्रविष्टि (Entry on record) कराएगा, और वाद जीवित वादी या वादियों की प्रेरणा पर अथवा जीवित प्रतिवादी या प्रतिवादियों के विरुद्ध आगे चलेगा।