Now, in a situation where there was only one defendant and the right to sue survives even after his death or where there were multiple defendants in a civil suit but the right to sue was only with the deceased defendant, a party to the suit may file an application U/O XXII Rule 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure within a period of 90 days to bring the legal representatives of the deceased defendant on record. Such legal representatives will be considered as defendants in the ongoing civil suit after filing of the aforementioned application. Upon careful perusal of rule 4 a point to be noted is that even the plaintiff of the suit can file an application for bringing on record the legal representative of the deceased defendant. What does this mean?

Under Order XXII Rule 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure, if a party to a civil suit notices that the right to sue survives even after the death of a defendant, they can file an application within 90 days to bring the legal representatives of the deceased defendant on record. This rule is applicable in situations where there is only one defendant and the right to sue survives after their death, or where there are multiple defendants but the right to sue was exclusively with the deceased defendant.

Importantly, as you pointed out, even the plaintiff of the suit can file an application to bring on record the legal representative of the deceased defendant. This means that if a plaintiff is aware that a defendant has passed away but believes that the legal representatives should be brought into the lawsuit to ensure proper adjudication of the matter, the plaintiff can initiate the process by filing an application under Order XXII Rule 4.

Once the legal representatives are brought on record as defendants in the ongoing civil suit, they will be deemed as parties to the proceedings and will be bound by the decisions and orders in the case as if they were originally named in the suit. This provision is aimed at ensuring that the legal rights and liabilities of all parties are appropriately addressed, even in situations where a party passes away during the course of a civil litigation.