Judgment

Mrs. Sujata V. Manohar, J.-Leave granted in S.L.P. (C) No. 12051 of 1988.

2. All these apepals raise a common question of law whether a debt which is barred by the law of limitation can be recovered by resorting to recovery proceedings under the Kerala Revenue Recovery Act of 1968. A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court in the impugned common judgment dated 2.11.1987 in C.A. No. 4211 of 1988, CA No. 4393 of 1988 and C.A. No. 4175 of 1988 held that in the absence of any provision in the Kerala Revenue Recovery Act creating a substantive right to recov­er time-barred debts, the said Act which provides for summary recovery cannot be availed of once the period prescribed for recovery under the Limitation Act has expired. This judgment of the Division Bench of the Kerala High Court was followed by a subsequent Division Bench in its judgment dated 29.1.1988 which is the subject matter of appeal arising from S.L.P. (C) No. 12051 of 1988. The above decisions of the Division Bench, however, have been overruled by a Full Bench of the Kerala High Court by its judgment dated 10.4.1996 which is the judgment under appeal in C.A. Nos. 12393 and 12394 of 1996. All these appeals, have, th