Suit filed against a dead person.It is a curable defect.
Legal heirs can be impleaded.
When a suit is instituted against a sole dead person, the plaintiff can seek for impleadment/substitution of proper parties.
Provided he satisfies the Court that the mistake in filing the suit was made in good faith and not on account of any neglect on the part of the plaintiff
Bombay High Court in Sureshchandra B. Agrawal and others v. Mansukhbkai H. Doshi and others, MANU/MH/0025/1996 : AIR 1996 Bombay 118, held that the test, which is to be applied in such case, is whether the mistake in filing the suit was made in good faith or it is on account of any neglect or contumacy to the conduct of the plaintiffs.
If there is no neglect or lack of bona fides on the part of the plaintiffs, such application will be liable to be granted.
The aforesaid decision has also been followed by this Court in Javeed Khan v. Board of Revenue, 1995 ALJ 40, wherein it has been held that where a suit has been instituted against a dead person, the proper parties can be impleaded if the Court is satisfied that the mistake was in good faith.
Thus, the law as it stands is that when a suit is instituted against a sole dead person, the plaintiff can seek for impleadment/substitution of proper parties provided he satisfies the Court that the mistake in filing the suit was made in good faith and not on account of any neglect on the part of the plaintiff.
Ashish vs. Dass Hitachi Ltd. (21.03.2017 – ALLHC) : MANU/UP/1589/2017