00:00Hello everyone, I am Advocate Xenia Nalpa, a legal associate in NRI Legal Services.
00:06In this session, I would like to talk about a very general quarry that we keep getting
00:11and a situation we face more often than not while the suit is pending in the court of
00:16law.
00:17Now, what happens when a party in the suit, be it a plaintiff or a defendant, dies while
00:24the case is still going on in the court?
00:26Here, it becomes pertinent to first look into the matter and analyze whether the right
00:33to sue survives.
00:35Right to sue means right to seek relief.
00:39Right to sue survives when the cause of action survives or continues even when the party in
00:46the suit had died.
00:47It means that if such right does not survive upon the death of a person, then the matter
00:54ends then and there and the suit will be abated, i.e. dismissed.
00:59Let us consider the effect of the death of the parties during the pendency of suit.
01:06In case of plaintiff's death, the plaintiff in the suit is a person who brings the legal
01:13action against one or more defendants.
01:16What would happen if a person who is seeking the legal remedy from the court of law were
01:23to die himself?
01:25Let us examine this one by one in three different circumstances.
01:30First condition, when the sole plaintiff in the suit dies.
01:34In such cases, the suit doesn't necessarily have to be abated.
01:41In fact, it can be continued by the heirs or the legal representative of the deceased person.
01:48Given that, right to sue survives.
01:51Now, second condition, when one of the several plaintiffs dies wherein the right to sue survives.
01:58In this case, the court will make the entry regarding the effect of the death of the plaintiff
02:05and proceed in the suit with rest of the plaintiff.
02:09The last condition, when one of the several plaintiffs dies but the right to sue does not survive.
02:15In such conditions, the court upon the application from the legal representative of the deceased
02:22plaintiff will make the said legal representative a party to the suit and proceed in the case.
02:28Now, in the situations where the plaintiff or plaintiffs were to die after the hearing
02:35in the matter has been concluded and the case is now listed for the pronouncement of final
02:40judgment.
02:41Or say, where the hearing has been concluded and the court has passed a preliminary decree
02:47but is yet to pronounce a final judgment.
02:50In either case, the suit will not be abated.
02:54It is because by this time, the matter of rights of the parties have already been adjudicated
03:00upon and have been examined by the court.
03:03Therefore, regardless of the death of the plaintiff in the suit, the court may pass the judgment
03:10as if the said plaintiff was still alive.
03:12Now, in case of defendant's death, the defendant in the case is a person against whom the suit
03:20is instituted and the relief is being sought.
03:23In cases where the only defendant in the suit dies upon the condition that the right to sue
03:30is still surviving, the suit can be continued against the S or the legal representative of
03:36the deceased person.
03:38The heirs or the legal representative can be made party to the suit even in the cases where
03:45one of the several defendants had died, given that the remedy can still be sought against
03:52the existing defendants.
03:53In such cases, the legal representative or the heirs are implicated in the ongoing suit
04:01after they submit the application regarding the same and informing the court about the
04:07death of the defendant.
04:09This application by the legal representative should be made within the prescribed limitation
04:15period of 90 days.
04:17If no such application is made, the suit against the said deceased person will stand abated.
04:25In the situations where the plaintiff is unaware of the death of the defendant and for this
04:32reason is unable to submit an application for bringing on record the legal heirs of the deceased
04:38defendant, he may take the plea of ignorance of death within the further statutory period of
04:4560 days.
04:47In this case, the learned court will scrutinize whether there is a sufficient ground for not
04:54making an application within the total statutory period of 150 days.
04:59Now, in case of both the plaintiff or the defendant, where either party fails to inform the court
05:06regarding the death of the party in the question within the prescribed limitation period,
05:12one can move an application with this regard under Section 5 of Limitation Act, requesting the
05:19court for the condemnation of delay by giving the appropriate reasonings.
05:24Furthermore, it is important to mention here that the legal representative or the legal heirs
05:30of the deceased are implicated as a party to the suit only when the rights of action and the demands
05:38can be sought against them.
05:40Therefore, in the matter of personal actions where the relief can only be sought against
05:46the deceased, the suit will stand abated.
05:49A legal maxim that is action personalis moritor cum persona applies and it means that the personal
05:58action dies with the person.
06:00Apt example for the said personal actions would be sued for damages for assault, for malicious
06:08prosecution, for defamation or for the breach of contract or for the dissolution of marriage
06:15and so on.
06:16Furthermore, as a general rule, it is the obligation of the pleader of the deceased party to inform
06:23the court regarding the death of the person.
06:27Regardless of this duty, the contract between the pleader and the party shall subsist through
06:33the deceased party's legal heir.
06:36That being said, a suit can never be instituted against the dead person.
06:42Such a suit is called non-heir and shall have no legal effect.
06:47However, if such suit is filed without any prior knowledge, then an application can be filed
06:54by the plaintiffs to bring on record the legal heirs of the deceased.
06:58And if the learned good is satisfied, it shall breathe the life into the suit by impleeding
07:05the legal heirs of the deceased defendant.
07:07So friends, if you found this video informative and productive, please don't forget to like
07:12and share.
07:13In case of any query, you can drop a comment below or can write us to query at the rate
07:19nrilegalservices.com.
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