Can a dead man live?

Can a dead man live for the purpose of maintaining a civil suit or appeal? [hereinafter, the term 'suit' shall include 'appeal' also; incidentally the plaintiff would include appellant]

Under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, the Court says a dead man is a dead man unless he is in a group of living human beings. what?

Supposing a suit is filed in the name of the plaintiff who is dead at the time of the institution of the suit, earlier the Court treated it equivalent to a case where wrong person was made a plaintiff and viewed it as defect curable under Order 1, Rule 10 CPC by permitting his legal representatives to be substituted in his place.[1] However, over the years, the court differed from the earlier view on the ground that a dead person is in existence neither in law nor fact. The court reasoned that

" the ‘person’ referred to in Order 1 Rule 10 CPC is a person in existence who may, of course,  be either a human being or a legal person. So according to the later view the dead person is not a human being. But the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary says otherwise. It refers to a human being as a person rather than any animals. Therefore what the Court while expressing the later view must have had in mind was that a living human being. The court ruled out the possibility of there being any cure under Sec. 153 read with S. 151 of CPC.[2] It is because section 153 says the Court may any time amend any defect or error in any proceeding in a suit but in a case where the suit is instituted in the name of dead plaintiff, the suit itself never comes in to existence and becomes a nullity. So consequently there is no proceeding before the Court to amend as such.[3] "

However if a suit is filed in the name of more than one plaintiff amongst one of whom  is dead, then in such a case recourse may be had to sec 153 read with Order 1 rule 10 for the reason the plaintiff(s) who is/are alive on the record are capable of instituting that suit and prosecuting it as well.[4] However my doubt here is why such a suit can’t be dismissed as against the dead plaintiff alone based on the very same principle laid down by the court in cases where the suit was filed in the name of the sole deceased plaintiff. Would not even in the former case, the suit remains a nullity as against the dead plaintiff alone while in respect of others the suit may be a valid one? Also the respondent in an appeal is treated not a dead person either. That is the rule applicable to appellant in this regard has not been applied in case of a respondent. [ Refer Nachimuthu Kounder(died) v. Manikavalli 1996 (1) CTC 532[by Jagadeesan.J]. This only means the dead lives in a group but not alone as per the Judiciary!!

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[1] AIR 1938 Nag 458 - by Niyogi.J

[2] Section 153 of the CPC reads thus “The Court may, at any time, and on such terms as to costs or otherwise as it may think fit, amend any defect or error in any proceeding in a suit; and all necessary amendments shall be made for the purpose of determining the real question or issue raised by or depending on such proceeding.” And Section 151 of CPC deals with the inherent powers of the Court.

[3] Amar Kaur v. Sadhu Singh, AIR 1961 PH 57[by Gurdev Singh.J]

[4] Rangarao Vyankatesh Deshphande v. Kashinath Dhondu, AIR 1947 Nag 73 [by Niyogi] relying on AIR 1938 Nag 458.