Judgment

SHELAT, J. : The predecessors of one Teja Hazari were the owners of lands admeasuring 15S bighas situate in the village Naraina near Delhi. Between August 1861 and October 1869 they executed seven usufructuary mortgages in favour of one Dharamdas to secure repayment of an aggregate sum of Rs. 1,290 advanced by him. Dharamdas died leaving him surviving his son Parmeshwardas. The said Parmeshwardas sub-mortgaged the suit lands in favour of one Badam, Chunder and Ganga Sahai, the ancestors of the appellants for Rs. 650 by mortgage-deeds, dated February 21, 1902 and April 8, 1902. Thereafter he sold his mortgage rights to Ganga Sahai and Hira Singh, the predecessors in title of the respondents for Rs. 1,290. By a deed of sale dated March 9, 1903 the said Teja sold equity of redemption in his 3/4th sharein the said mortgaged lands for Rs. 1,900 in favour of Badam Jaishi, Chunder Bapal, Kalu Harnam and Badam Gulab, the predecessors-in-title of the appellants. As a result of these transactions the position in 1903 was that the predecessors-in-title of the respondents stood in the position of mortgagors subject to the said sub-mortgage and the predecessors-in-title of the appellants stood in the position of mortgagors of the said lands to the extent of the 3/4th share therein and the rest of the 1/4th share therein remained with the said Teja. On April 14, 1903 the said Hira Singh and Ganga Sahai, the predecessors-in-title of the respondents filed a suit being Suit No. 31 of 1903 against the said Badam and others for redemption and for possession of the said lands. The said Badam, Teja and others, the predecessors-in-title of the appellants, thereupon brought a suit being Suit No. 50 of 1903 for redemption against the said Hira Singh and others on payment of Rs. 856 and odd. The Trial Judge by his judgment, dated August 31, 1903 decreed Suit No. 31 of 1903 and dismissed Suit No. 50 of 1903. In appeal, however, the appellate Court reversed the said judgment and decree and passed a decree for redemption and possession on payment of Rs. 8,839-13-0 in favour of the predecessors-in-title of the appellants and the said Teja and against the predecessors-in-title of the respondents. The appellants predecessors-in-title, however, failed to redeem. Consequently the suit lands continued to remain in possession of the respondents predecessors-in-title. The said Teja migrated to Pakistan in 1947 whereupon his 1/4th share in the said lands vested in the Custodian of Evacuee Property. On December 4, 1951, the appellants applied for redemption of their 3/4th share in the said lands under the Punjab Redemption of Mortgages Act, II of 1913 before the Additional Collector, Delhi, who, however, referred the parties to a civil Court. On May 15, 1954 the appellants filed the present suit for a declaration that the said seven mortgages still subsisted and for redemption and possession of their 3/4th share in the suit lands. In answer to that suit the respondents pleaded that as sixty years had already expired since the dates of the said mortgages the suit was barred by limitation and the appellants were not entitled to redeem the said lands. The appellants relied on four statements for the purpose of saving limitation which they alleged were acknowledgments within the meaning of S. 19 of the Limitation Act, IX of 1908. These statements were in the following documents:-

1. The written statement, Ex. P. 14, in Suit No. 50 of 1903 which contained a statement that Parmeshwardas held the said lands as the mortgagee thereof under the said seven mortgages.

2. The plaint, Ex. P. 15, in Suit No. 31 of 1903 wherein reference was made of Parmeshwardas having executed the said sub-mortgage.

3. Sale-deed, Ex. X, executed by Parmeshwardas thereby selling his mortgage rights in favour of the predecessors-in-title of the respondents.

4. Deed of sub-mortgage Ex. E executed by Parmeshwardas in 1902.

2. In the last document the statement relied on was with regard to only