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2001 Supreme(AP) 868

BILAL NAZKI, ELIPE DHARMA RAO
Golla Krishna Murthy – Appellant
Versus
Golla Yellaiah (Died) – Respondent


Judgement Key Points

Certainly. Based on the provided legal document, the key points are as follows:

  1. The case involves a suit for declaration of title and recovery of possession, which was initially decreed, and the appellate court upheld this judgment. The second appeal was filed by the defendant.

  2. The core legal issue concerns whether a judgment delivered in an appeal, which was heard after the death of a party, is valid or constitutes a nullity under Order 22, Rule 6 of the Civil Procedure Code.

  3. The interpretation of "hearing" in Order 22, Rule 6 is critical. It is understood to encompass all stages of the trial process before the court reserves the case for judgment, not merely the argument phase.

  4. The law states that there can be no abatement of a suit or appeal by reason of the death of a party occurring after the conclusion of the hearing but before the judgment is pronounced. If a party dies before the conclusion of the hearing, the judgment is considered a nullity.

  5. The judgment emphasizes that the authority of the legal representatives ceases immediately after the death of a party, and their advocate cannot represent them posthumously at the hearing stage.

  6. The Court clarifies that the requirement for the presence of the appellant or plaintiff is primarily of minimal importance during the appellate stage, given that no new evidence is typically taken, and the focus is on legal examination.

  7. The judgment rejects the view that the appellate court's proceedings are mainly confined to examining the correctness of the lower court's judgment. Instead, it affirms that parties have a right to be heard, and proceedings without proper representation at the time of hearing can render the judgment a nullity.

  8. The Court references relevant principles that the entire trial process, including all stages before reserving judgment, constitutes "hearing." Therefore, if a party dies during this period, the judgment may be invalid unless the death occurs after the hearing is complete.

  9. The judgment also notes that if the death occurs after arguments are heard and judgment is reserved, the judgment can still be valid and enforceable, based on the clear legal provisions.

  10. The Court concludes that the earlier law which considered such judgments nullity is no longer valid, and the current legal interpretation supports that judgments delivered after the death of a party during the hearing process are valid, provided the hearing is considered complete at that point.

Please let me know if you need further elaboration or specific legal advice based on these points.


BILAL NAZKI, J.

( 1 ) THIS Second Appeal has come up before us by virtue of an order of reference made by the learned Single Judge. The plaintiff had filed a suit for declaration of title and recovery of possession. The suit had been decreed. The defendant filed A. S. No. 48 of 1995. In the appeal judgment was pronounced by the Court upholding the judgment of the trial Court. The judgment was delivered by the appellate Court on 7-10-1995. In the Second Appeal filed thereafter by the defendant a ground was taken that the first appeal had been heard on 12-9-1995 although the respondent i. e. , the plaintiff had died on 3-9-95 and therefore the judgment in the appeal was a nullity in view of Order 22, Rule 6 of the code of Civil Procedure. The learned single Judge referred to a judgment of this court reported in V. Appalanaidu v. P. Demudamma. After quoting a paragraph from the said judgment the learned Single judge expressed his doubts about the correctness of the law laid down in the judgment and therefore referred the matter to the Division Bench.

( 2 ) WE have gone through the judgment (supra) and we have also heard the learned Counsel for the parties.

( 3 ) NOW the question befor







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