IMPORTANT POINT
Pre-suit interest is impermissible under CPC unless stipulated by contract or statute; interest rates must align with statutory limits.

JUDGMENT :

BUDI HABUNG, J.

Heard Mr. Vijay Jamoh, learned counsel for the appellant. I have also heard Mr. R. L. Thungon, learned counsel for the respondent.

2. This appeal has been preferred under Section 96 read with Order XLI of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 and section 15 (2) of the Arunachal Pradesh Civil Courts Acts, 2021, against the Judgment and Decree dated 03.03.2023, passed by the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Capital Complex, Yupia, in Money Suit No. 84 of 2022. The learned court has imposed a cost of Rs 10,000/- (Rupees ten thousand) and directed the payment of Rs 61,00,000/-(Rupees Sixty one lakhs) only, with interest at 3.5% per month on the principal sum from January 2019 until date of filing of the suit, and interest at 6% per annum on the principal sum adjudged from the date of the suit to the date of decree, with future interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of decree to the date of the payment.

3. The brief fact of the case is that on 10.12.2019, the appellant executed a Promissory Note stating that he had borrowed an amount of Rs. 1,70,00,000/- (One Crore Seventy Lakhs) from the respondent at an interest rate of 3.5% per month in October, 2018. The note stipulated that the interest amount would be counted from the month of January, 2019. The appellant agreed to repay the amount in instalments as outlined in the promissory note, with the interest amount to be calculated at the time of final payment. The appellant repaid the loan amount on an instalment basis, and by the time of filing Money Suit No. 84/2022, he had already paid a total amount of Rs. 1,09,00,000/- (One Crore Nine Lakhs), which was duly acknowledged and accepted by the respondent.

4. However, aggrieved by the fact that the total loan amount was not repaid within the stipulated time, the respondent filed Money Suit No. 84/2022, before the learned Civil Judge (Senior Division), Capital Complex, Yupia. The respondent claimed an amount of Rs. 3,26,80,000/- (Rupees three crore twenty-six lakhs eighty thousand) after deducting the paid amount of Rs. 1,09,00,000/- (One Crore Nine Lakhs) along with the cost of Rs. 50,000/- for litigation costs.

5. The suit was contested by the appellant by filing written statement. Upon conclusion of the trial, the learned Civil Judge (Senior Division), Capital Complex, Yupia, decreed the suit in favour of the plaintiff. The court directed the defendant/appellant to pay Rs. 61,00,000/- (Rupees sixty-one lakhs) to the plaintiff, with interest at the rate of 3.5% per month on the principal sum from January 2019 until the date of filing of the suit. Additionally, the interest at the rate of 6% per annum on the principal sum adjudged was to be paid from the date of the suit to the date of decree, along with future interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of decree until the date of payment.

6. The appellant, being aggrieved by the impugned judgment and order, has preferred this Regular First Appeal on the following grounds, among others:

(i) The learned Civil Judge (Senior Division) failed to appreciate that in the appellant/defendant partially admitted and partially denied the statements in the plaint. The appellant admitted an amount of Rs 1,70,00,000/-(One crore seventy lakhs), while and a repayment of Rs 1,09,00, 000/-(One Crore nine lakhs), while denying the remaining claims in the Plaintiff’s money suit.

(ii) The learned Civil Judge (Senior Division) overlooked the appellant’s strong objection to the interest claimed by the respondent/plaintiff.

(iii) The learned Civil Judge (Senior Division) did not consider that for a case to be disposed under Order XII, Rule 6, the admission must be categorical. Unless the admission is clear, unambiguous, and unconditional, the court should not exercise discretion to deny the valuable right to contest the claim.

(iv) The learned C