ABDUR RAZZAK SHAH vs ABDUL ALIM DURRESHANI and others
This matter concerns an appeal before the Supreme Court of Pakistan where the respondents sought dismissal on the grounds that the appellant had deceased years prior to the grant of leave to appeal, and his legal heirs had not been brought on record. The core legal question was whether an appeal could proceed when leave was granted to a deceased person and no steps were taken to implead legal representatives for over fourteen years. The Court held that the appeal was improperly constituted. It observed that the appellant died in 1975, yet leave to appeal was granted in 1980 without the Court being informed of his death. Furthermore, the legal heirs failed to seek impleadment for an additional nine years after the grant of leave. The Court refused to grant indulgence for this unpardonable delay and negligence in prosecuting the appeal. The principle laid down is that an appeal becomes improperly constituted when the appellant dies before the grant of leave and the legal heirs fail to take timely steps to implead themselves, rendering the proceedings liable to dismissal.
- Can an appeal proceed if leave to appeal was granted to a deceased person?
- Does an unexplained delay of fourteen years in impleading legal heirs justify the dismissal of an appeal?
- Is an appeal considered improperly constituted if the appellant dies before the grant of leave and no legal representatives are brought on record?
ORDER
1. ' MUHAMMAD HALEEM, C.J.--On 29th January, 1989, the respondents 2 to 4 moved an application before this Court stating therein that the appellant had "died as far back as 8-9-1975" and till today his heirs have not been brought on record which has rendered the appeal as imperfectly constituted and prayed for dismissal of the appeal.
2. ' Here it may be mentioned that the petition for leave to appeal was filed on 16-5-1975 while the appellant was alive, but on the date namely, 3rd of November, 1980, when leave was granted he was already dead. This fact was not brought to the notice of the Bench which granted leave to the deceased appellant. It was after the filing of the application dated 29th of January, 1989, that on 18th of February, 1989, an application has been filed for impleading the legal heirs of the appellant.
3. It is almost after fourteen years that a request has been made and that too in order to cover the otherwise unpardonable delay and negligence in the prosecution of the appeal and more particularly in the context that leave had been granted to a dead person for the hearing of his appeal. In fact, steps should have been taken to implead the legal representatives of the deceased who had died five years earlier before the grant of leave which was not done and the lapse continued for another nine years.
4. ' In this view of the matter, we would refrain from granting any indulgence and dispose of the appeal as improperly constituted.