The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that when a trustee institutes a suit in a representative capacity on behalf of a trust and dies during the pendency of the proceedings, the trustee’s legal heirs cannot be substituted to continue the litigation. The Court clarified that only the remaining trustees or a trustee validly appointed in accordance with the trust deed can prosecute the case.
Dismissing a review petition filed by the family members of the deceased trustee, the Court observed that a trustee litigates on behalf of the trust and not to vindicate any personal rights. Consequently, the right to continue such proceedings does not devolve upon the trustee’s legal heirs.
In the case, a trustee had filed a suit to safeguard the interests of the trust but passed away while the matter was pending before the trial court. His legal heirs subsequently sought to be impleaded as plaintiffs to continue the proceedings. The trial court rejected their application, holding that the office of trustee is not personal property that can be inherited or transferred through succession.
Upholding the trial court’s order, the High Court reiterated that trusteeship does not automatically pass to a deceased trustee’s family members. A person cannot claim the status of trustee merely because he or she is the son, daughter, spouse, or legal heir of a deceased trustee. Only those appointed in accordance with the trust deed or governing law are entitled to act on behalf of the trust.
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