# Wrong party? Fix it at any stage. > The court may strike out or add a party at any stage, with or without an application (O.I R.10(2)). No suit is defeated by misjoinder or non-joinder (R.9), objections must be taken early (R.13), and as against an added party the suit is instituted when he is made a party (Limitation Act s.22). - Topic: Courts and procedure - For: Advocates - A 12-slide carousel: https://failegal.site/media/wrong-party-fix-it-at-any-stage - Published by FAI Legal on 2026-10-12 ## Quick quiz. Added late. Guess first, then swipe for the answer. - **A. When the plaint was filed** - **B. When he was made a party** - **C. When issues were framed** ## Answer: B. Section 22. Limitation Act, 1908. > "Where after the institution of a suit, a new plaintiff or defendant is substituted or added, the suit shall, as regards him, be deemed to have been instituted when he was so made a party." (Limitation Act, 1908 · Section 22(1)) ## The power. Order I Rule 10(2), CPC. - **Any stage** With or without an application by either party. - **Strike out** A party improperly joined, as plaintiff or defendant. - **Add** Anyone who ought to have been joined, or whose presence is needed to settle all questions. ## Necessary or proper? 2017 YLR 1579, Sindh High Court. - **Necessary** Without him, no effective decree can be passed at all. - **Proper** Not necessary, but his presence lets the court decide everything completely. - **Dominus litis** The plaintiff chooses whom to sue, and is not made to sue someone he seeks no relief against. ## Myth or fact? The missing party. - **Myth: A party is missing, so the suit fails.** - **Fact: No suit is defeated by misjoinder or non-joinder of parties. The court deals with the rights of the parties before it (O.I R.9).** ## Object early. Order I Rule 13, CPC. - **When** At the earliest possible opportunity. - **Issues** Where issues are settled, at or before that settlement. - **Too late** Not taken in time: deemed waived, unless the ground arose later. ## How courts use it. Two lines from the case law. - **Liberal** Exercise the discretion liberally, not pedantically, where a person is likely to be affected (2025 SCMR 515). - **Not a new case** No one is added to set up a new cause of action with an independent remedy (2019 MLD 212). ## After the order. Three steps, in this order. - **Add** On application, or by the court itself (R.10(2)). - **Amend** The plaint is amended, unless the court directs otherwise (R.10(4)). - **Serve** Proceedings against him begin on service of summons (R.10(5)). ## Wrong plaintiff? Order I Rule 10(1) and (3). - **Bona fide mistake** Filed in the wrong name? The court may substitute or add the right plaintiff. - **Real dispute** If needed to decide the real matter in dispute. - **Consent** No one is added as a plaintiff without a next friend without his consent. ## Party problems? Ask FAI in your own words. It answers with the exact rule and the judgments behind it. - **A subsequent buyer wants to join my specific performance suit. Is he a necessary party?** - **Draft an application under Order I Rule 10 CPC.** ## Sources - Limitation Act, 1908 · Section 22(1): Effect of substituting or adding new plaintiff or defendant --- Educational legal information, not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. Speak to a qualified lawyer about your situation. Review status: Pending advocate review. FAI Media is part of FAI Legal (https://failegal.site), research on Pakistani statutes and judgments. Free to watch and read.