Appeal from preliminary finding in an abated suit is not maintainable where no final order exists.

An appeal is maintainable only from a judgment, decree or final order, and an interlocutory finding on a preliminary issue does not satisfy that requirement where the suit has not been finally disposed of. The claim was personal to the deceased plaintiff, and the suit abated when substitution of the legal representative was not pursued. As an appeal is only a continuation of the suit, nothing survived for appellate adjudication once abatement occurred. The impugned ruling also remained a partial determination because other issues were still pending for trial. The appeal was therefore not maintainable and could not proceed.

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Issues: Whether the appeal lay against a finding on a preliminary issue after the suit had abated on the death of the plaintiff, and whether such an interlocutory finding could be treated as a final order for the purposes of appeal.

Analysis: The claim was personal to the deceased plaintiff, and on his death the suit abated when the application to substitute his legal representative was not pressed. An appeal is only a continuation of the suit, so once the suit had abated there was nothing left to continue. Independently, the impugned order was only a decision on one issue and did not finally dispose of the suit, because other issues remained to be tried. Under the constitutional provisions governing appeals, and the analogous provision in the Government of India Act, an appeal lies only from a judgment, decree, or final order, and an interlocutory finding does not satisfy that requirement.

Conclusion: The appeal was not maintainable and could not proceed.

Ratio Decidendi: An appeal lies only from a judgment, decree, or final order, and a finding on a preliminary issue in an abated suit is not a final order where further issues remain for trial.

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