Oral Judgment: (Dr. Justice D. Y. Chandrachud)

The gist of the case.

1. This Appeal raises the issue as to whether a sole beneficiary under a will can seek substitution instead and in place of an executor who has died during the pendency of a testamentary proceeding. The Testamentary Suit for probate of the will of the testatrix is pending for over seven years; evidence is complete and the suit was ripe for final hearing when the sole executor died. The learned Single Judge allowed the Chamber Summons by the Respondent for substitution and granted the prayer for converting the proceeding formally into one for Letters of Administration with the will annexed. The Appellant contends that the remedy open to the Respondent is to file a fresh Petition for Letters of Administration with the will annexed and the probate proceedings which came to an end with the death of the executor cannot be continued. For the reasons which follow, we have concluded that the law is not what the Appellant contends it is. A purposive interpretation which safeguards litigants against a multiplicity of proceedings and the attendant delay and expense is in accordance with the intent and the letter o