In Vikram Bhalchandra Ghongade vs. The State of Maharashtra & Ors., the Supreme Court examined whether an appellate decree passed in favour of persons who were already dead at the time of hearing could be treated as valid and executable. The dispute arose from a suit concerning re-allotment of ancestral land, where the trial court decreed ownership and possession in favour of the plaintiffs. During the pendency of the first appeal, two appellants died, but their legal heirs were never brought on record. Unaware of this, the appellate court partly allowed the appeal and modified the trial court decree. Allowing the appeal, the Supreme Court held that a decree passed in favour of a dead person is a nullity in the eyes of law and has no legal effect. Consequently, the doctrine of merger could not apply. Since the appellate decree was void, the original trial court decree stood revived and was executable. The Court clarified that a decree which is a nullity can be challenged at any stage, even during execution proceedings.