Section 146 — Proceedings by or against representatives
A right that travels with the interest. Subject to the Code or any other law, whatever a person may do — or have done against him — by way of a proceeding or application, may equally be done by or against any person claiming under him. So a successor or assignee can step into the shoes of the party from whom he takes his interest.
How to read Section 146
The enabling rule
Anything a party could do by proceeding or application, a person claiming under him may also do — or face. The right runs with the interest.
“Claiming under him”
A successor-in-interest — assignee, transferee, legal heir — wider than just a deceased’s legal representative.
The saving
It yields where the Code or another law provides otherwise — a general rule, not an override.
The bare Act
Save as otherwise provided by this Code or by any law for the time being in force, where any proceeding may be taken or application made by or against any person, then the proceeding may be taken or the application may be made by or against any person claiming under him.
In short: a proceeding or application open to (or available against) a person is equally open to (or available against) anyone who claims under him — his successor or assignee in interest — unless the Code or some other law says otherwise.
→ § 146 is a beneficial, enabling provision, read liberally to advance justice. “Claiming under him” is broad — an assignee, transferee or heir who derives title from the party — and is wider than the “legal representative” of a deceased (§ 2(11)). It does not create new rights; it lets the successor use the same procedural steps the original party could — subject always to the saving clause.
Key terms decoded
The rule applies only so far as the Code or another law does not provide differently — a default, displaced by any contrary provision.
A step or request in litigation — e.g. an execution application, an appeal step, a miscellaneous application — that the Code allows.
The original party who may take the step, or against whom it may be taken.
A person who derives his interest / title from that party — an assignee, transferee or heir. He may take, or face, the same step.
“Claiming under him” is wider than “legal representative” (§ 2(11)) — it covers transfers between living persons, not just succession on death.
Courts read § 146 liberally — to let a successor continue or resist proceedings without needless fresh litigation.
The picture — the right runs with the interest
§ 146 keeps litigation moving when an interest changes hands: the person who takes over a party’s interest may carry on — or must answer — the same proceedings, without being shut out for want of express provision.
Part by part — the one sentence
Save as otherwise provided by this Code or by any law for the time being in force…
A default rule — it gives way wherever the Code or another law lays down something different.
…where any proceeding may be taken or application made by or against any person…
Start with what a party may do, or have done against him — any proceeding or application the Code allows.
…then the proceeding may be taken or the application may be made by or against any person claiming under him.
The same step is open to, and available against, anyone claiming under that party — his successor or assignee in interest.
Why it matters
Litigation should follow the interest, not stall when it moves
Three practical effects of letting a successor stand in the party’s place.
Connected provisions
Section 146 sits in Part XI’s restitution & relief group. It lets a successor-in-interest take or face proceedings — complementing the legal-representative machinery (§ 2(11), Order XXII) and the consent rule for persons under disability (§ 147).