In Brief
The Supreme Court held that legal representatives of a defendant who dies before a suit is filed can be added as parties under Order 1 Rule 10 CPC (not Order 22 Rule 4, which applies only to deaths during subsistence of suit). The Court rejected the argument that dismissal of an application under Order 22 Rule 4 operates as res judicata to bar a subsequent Order 1 Rule 10 application. Courts may treat wrongly-cited applications as filed under the correct provision to serve justice. The legal representatives are necessary parties whose addition is discretionary under Order 1 Rule 10(2), subject to limitation periods under Section 21 of the Limitation Act. Procedural technicality should not override substantive justice.
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