The court ruled that pandemic-related limitation exemptions do not apply to suits where the limitation period expired before the onset of the lockdown.

JUDGMENT :

NIRAL R. MEHTA, J.

1. This Appeal under Section 96 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (for short ‘the Code’) is directed against the order dated 9.8.2024 passed by the learned 13^th Additional Senior Civil Judge, Vadodara below Exh.20 in Special Civil Suit No.201 of 2023, by which the learned trial court has rejected the plaint under O.VII R.11(a) and (d) of the Code.

2. Brief facts of the case can be stated as under :

2.1 It is the case of the plaintiff that the property i.e. House bearing Plot No.23-B admeasuring 641.26 sq.mtr. situated in Kutch-Bhuj was owned by the plaintiff. Due to some financial issues, the plaintiff borrowed a sum of Rs.5 crores from the defendant and as against that, a registered sale deed of the said property being No.6951 of 2019, dated 28.9.2019, came to be executed in favour of the defendant for a total consideration of Rs.2,63,00,000/- as per the jantri rates.

2.2 One MoU dated 30.8.2019 came to be executed between the plaintiff and the defendant to the effect that if the plaintiff returns the said amount of Rs.5 crores within a period of 5 months, the defendant shall have to execute reverse sale deed in favour of plaintiff. The said MoU was kept open for renewal for 22 months.

2.3 It is the case of the plaintiff that Rs.2,63,00,000/- was paid by the defendant and remaining Rs.2,37,00,000/- was to be paid by 3 different cheques of Axis Bank, Rajpipla Branch being Cheque Nos.(Page.30). However, said cheques were called for by the defendant under the pretext that the amount of Rs.2,37,00,000/- will be paid in a different manner. Thereafter, further sum of Rs.1,98,00,000/- was paid by the defendant to the plaintiff. However, Rs.39,00,000/- were not paid. Thus, according to the plaintiff, as against Rs.5 crores, the defendant has paid Rs.4,61,00,000/-.

2.4 It is the case of the plaintiff that the registered sale deed of the property was executed purely for the security of the loan amount of Rs.5 crores. However, the defendant has raised funds (loan) from the ICICI Bank to the tune of Rs.3,98,00,329/- as against the amount of Rs.1,75,30,038/-.

Thus, in total a sum of Rs.5,71,30,369/-.

2.5 It is the case of the plaintiff that out of Rs.4,61,00,000/-, Rs.2,52,00,000/- has already been repaid to the defendant, however, the defendant is not acknowledging the same and asking Rs.8,00,00,000/- for reversing the sale deed.

2.6 The plaintiff, thereby approached the learned Civil Judge (SD), Vadodara by way of Special Civil Suit No.201 of 2023 for the following reliefs:

“1) Kindly declare that the Memorandum of Understanding Reg. No.10466/2019 executed between the plaintiff and defendant on 30/08/2019 is true and correct.

2) Kindly pass an order that as per the Memorandum of Understanding, accepting the remaining amount after settling the accounts out of Rs.5,00,00,000/- (Rupees Five Crores only) given to the plaintiff, the defendant herein shall execute back the Registered Sale Deed of the property under the exclusive ownership and possession of the plaintiff described in Para-2 in favour of the plaintiff.

3) As the defendant has availed Home Loan of Rs.3,98,00,329/- (Rupees Three Crore Ninety-eight Lacs Three Hundred Twenty-nine only) and Top-up Loan of Rs.1,75,30,038/- (Rupees One Crore Seventy-five Lacs Thirty Thousand Thirty-eight only), making total of Rs.5,71,30,369/- (Rupees Five Crores Seventy-one Lacs Thirty Thousand Three Hundred Sixty-nine only) from ICICI Bank on 17/01/2022 on the property under the exclusive ownership and possession of