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Gurnam Singh (D) Thr. Lrs. & Ors. v. Gurbachan Kaur (D) By Lrs. & Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 5671 of 2017)Decided 27 Apr 2017
Civil Appeal No. 5671 of 2017
Justice R.K. Agrawal · Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre

Background

In 1974, Surjan Singh contracted to sell land in Amritsar to Gurbachan Kaur, but instead sold it to three other buyers, including Gurnam Singh. Gurbachan Kaur sued for specific performance; the Trial Court and the first Appellate Court both refused specific performance and awarded her only a money decree instead. While her further second appeal was pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, she and two of the defendants (including Gurnam Singh) died, but no one applied to bring their legal heirs on record within the law's time limit: yet the High Court went ahead years later and allowed the appeal, overturning both lower courts and granting specific performance.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that once 90 days passed after Gurbachan Kaur's death in 1994 without a proper application to substitute her legal representatives (and to have the resulting abatement set aside, with a condonation-of-delay application under the Limitation Act), the second appeal stood automatically abated/dismissed by operation of law, meaning there was no appeal legally pending at all after that date. Consequently, the High Court had no jurisdiction to decide the appeal in 2010, and relying on settled law (including the Kiran Singh line of cases), the Court held that a decree passed for or against a dead person without proper substitution is a "nullity" that can be challenged at any later stage, including here by the heirs of the deceased defendants. The Supreme Court therefore allowed the appeal and set aside the High Court's judgment/decree as void.

Lesson Learnt

If a party to a pending court case dies, their legal heirs (or the opposing side) must formally apply to bring the heirs on record within the statutory time limit, failing this, the case automatically lapses ("abates"), and any judgment a court later passes anyway is legally void and can be challenged even years afterward.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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