In Brief
The Supreme Court held that a decree passed by a court against deceased parties without their legal representatives being substituted on record is a nullity, striking at the court's very authority. When a party to an appeal dies, if no substitution application is filed within 90 days under CPC Order 22, the appeal automatically abates and the court loses jurisdiction. The High Court therefore lacked authority to pass the impugned decree. The legal representatives may challenge such decrees in any proceeding, including execution, as nullities that cannot be cured by consent. The appeal by the legal representatives was allowed and the decree set aside.
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