KUTTAN PILLAI Vs. GOVERNMENT OF TC

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Plaintiffs are the appellants. The essential relief claimed in the suit is to have the jenmikaram decision in favour of the Illom of defendants 2 and 3 set aside. These two defendants were made parties to the suit to represent Illom in their capacity as the karanavan and the senior anandiravan of the Illom. The final arguments in the suit were over only on 11-12-1951. But, more than two weeks prior to that date, the 2nd defendant died, on 26-11-51. Nobody was impleaded in the case as his legal representative. The 3rd defendant alone was there as the senior member of the Illom and he alone could not represent the Illom. It was with him alone on record that the decree in the case was passed by the Trial Court on 17-12-1951. Such a decree is a void decree so far as the Illom is concerned. Even when the present appeal was filed, the Illom was not properly brought on record. So far as the Illom is concerned, the 3rd defendant alone was made a respondent. As such, the appeal was incompetent as against the Illom. The time, to bring the necessary parties on record to represent the Illom, was also over. The subsequent impleading of the 4th respondent, at a later stage, could not cure the above defects. The suit had already abated as against the illom. Thus, it is recorded that the suit has abated and the decree passed by the lower court is a void decree, so far as the Illom is concerned. This appeal, as against the Illom, is also incompetent and it is struck off the file.