HIGH COURT OF CALCUTTA
P. N. MUKHERJEE
HIMANGSHU BHUSAN KAR - Appellant
Versus
MANINDRA MOHAN SAHA - Respondent
A. F. A. O. 68 Of 1952
Decided On : DECEMBER 15, 1953
CIVIL PROCEDURE CODE, 1908 - ORDER 22, RULE 2 - ABATEMENT OF SUIT - DEATH OF ONE OF SEVERAL PLAINTIFFS - SURVIVAL OF RIGHT TO SUE TO SURVIVING PLAINTIFFS - NO ABATEMENT - DECREE PASSED IN FAVOUR OF DEAD PERSON - NOT A NULLITY - EXECUTION OF DECREE.
Fact of the Case:
During the pendency of an ejectment suit, one of the plaintiffs died. The suit was decreed in favor of the surviving plaintiff without any substitution in place of the deceased plaintiff. The judgment debtors filed an objection under Section 47 of the Code of Civil Procedure, contending that the suit had abated and the decree was a nullity.
Finding of the Court:
The court held that the case fell under Order 22, Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which provides for the continuation of a suit in the event of the death of one of several plaintiffs where the right to sue survives to the surviving plaintiffs alone. The court found that the surviving plaintiff was the sole legal representative of the deceased plaintiff and that the right to sue had survived to him.
Issues: 1. Whether the Special Bench was correct in applying Section 14 (5) of the Rent Control Act to the execution proceedings. 2. Whether the death of one of the plaintiffs during the pendency of the suit resulted in an abatement of the suit. 3. Whether the decree passed in favor of the deceased plaintiff was a nullity and could not be executed.
Ratio Decidendi: 1. Section 14 (4) and Section 14 (5) of the Rent Control Act of 1950 were not intended to apply to execution proceedings. 2. Order 22, Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure applies to cases where there are more plaintiffs than one and any of them dies, and the right to sue survives to the surviving plaintiff or plaintiffs alone. In such cases, 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. 3. A decree passed in favor of a dead person is not a nullity, although a decree made against a dead person is a nullity.
Final Decision: The court dismissed the appeal, holding that the ejectment decree passed against the appellants was not without jurisdiction and was not a nullity, and that the executing court was, therefore, bound to execute the decree to give appropriate relief to the decree-holder.
( 1 ) THIS appeal arises out of a proceeding in execution. The present appellants who were the defendants in the original suit were the tenants under the plaintiff respondent Manindra Mohan Saha and his brother Jatindra Mohan Sana. These two brothers instituted a suit for ejectment against the defendants appellants and obtained a decree. That decree was put into execution and in the executing court an objection was filed by the judgment debtors under section 47 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The objection which is material for our present purpose arises on the following allegations, viz. , that during the pendency of the ejectment suit one of the plaintiffs Jatindra Mohan died on the 22nd November 1950, but the suit was decreed on the 16th June 1951 without any substitution in place of Jatindra and without any step having been taken in that behalf or in consequence of the said death. It is, accordingly, contended that the suit abated and, therefore, the decree passed was without jurisdiction and was a nullity. The learned Small Cause Court Judge before whom the decree was being executed overruled this objection upon the view that the executing court was not entitled to go behind the decree as, in his opinion, the defect alleged was not one of jurisdiction. He further found that the surviving plaintiff on the record who was executing the decree before him was the sole heir and legal representative of the deceased plaintiff.
( 2 ) PROM the decision of the learned subordinate Judge, as appeal was taken to the Special Bench of the court of Small Causes. That appeal, however, was dismissed for default as the judgment-debtor appellants failed to comply with an order passed by the Special Bench under section 14 (5) of the Rent Control Act of 1950. The tenants judgment-debtors have now come up in second appeal to this Court.
( 3 ) IN support of the appeal, three points have been urged by the learned Advocate appearing for the appellants. His first contention is that the Special Bench was wrong in applying section 14 (5) of the Rent Control Act to the present case. In the second place, he contended that on account of the death of Jatindra during the pendency of the ejectment suit there was an abatement so far as he was concerned as there was no substitution in his place within the time allowed by law and that partial abatement entailed a total abatement of the suit having regard to its nature, viz. , that it was an ejectment suit and the fact that the shares 'of the plaintiffs could not be ascertained on the materials on record. In the third place, the learned Advocate contends that even if the case comes under Order 22, Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, a note would be necessary regarding the fact of death and the other fact, viz. , that the heir of the deceased is already on the record and as there was no such note in the present case, the decree passed was without jurisdiction, He, accordingly, contends that the executing court ought to have refused execution of the ejectment decree.
( 4 ) ON the first question it seems to me, as at present advised, that the contention of the learned Advocate is right. It does not appear that section 14 (4) or section 14 (5) of the Rent Control Act of 1950 was intended to apply to execution proceedings. That, however, will not be of any advantage to the appellants in the present case as, in my opinion, the other two points, urged in support of the appeal, havo no substance and, accordingly, the order of the learned Small Cause Court Judge overruling the appellants' objection on the materials before him was right.
( 5 ) ON the second question the position appears to be on the materials on record that the other plaintiff who is the respondent in this appeal was the sole legal representative of the deceased plaintiff Jatindra. That was clearly found by the executing court and I have no manner of doubt that, on the present state of the records, that finding is a good findi
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