Necessary-party requirement: Chapter 11 Trustee removed where no substantive relief or cause of action was pleaded against her.

A Chapter 11 Trustee who merely conducted a foreign court-authorised sale of disputed domains and websites was not a necessary party to the commercial suit. The notes state that the plaintiffs participated in the United States bankruptcy proceedings but did not fully disclose the relevant orders, sought no substantive relief against the Trustee, and failed to show a cause of action against her. Section 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure did not govern an application to strike out a party under inherent powers. The Trustee was therefore directed to be removed from the party array.

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Issues: Whether the Chapter 11 Trustee could be retained as a defendant in the commercial suit concerning domains and websites already dealt with in United States bankruptcy proceedings.

Analysis: The plaintiffs had participated in the United States bankruptcy proceedings, in which the subject assets were sold pursuant to orders of the competent foreign court. The material orders and the plaintiffs' participation were not fully disclosed. No substantive relief was claimed against the Trustee, whose role was confined to conducting the court-authorised sale. The plaint sought to create a local cause of action despite the foreign incorporation of the entities against whom declaratory relief was effectively sought, their non-joinder, and the absence of a cause of action against the Trustee. Section 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 did not apply because the application sought striking out of the Trustee through inherent powers, rather than a stay of the suit on account of pendency before a foreign court.

Conclusion: The Trustee was not a necessary party, and the plaint disclosed no cause of action against her; she was directed to be struck off from the party array.

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