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1957 Supreme(Ker) 235

Judges : KUMARA PILLAI
Paily Abraham - Appellant
Versus
Katharu Aviran - Respondent
Case No : S. A. No. 584 of 1954 (E)
Decided On : 09/12/1957
Advocates Appeared :
K. K. Mathew; For Appellant M. K. Narayana Menon; For 1st Respondent

The acknowledgment made by the debtor under S.21(1) of the Travancore Limitation Act, VI of 1100, is valid and can save the suit from limitation. The cause of action for recovery of money from immovable property is not barred by limitation if the suit is filed within twelve years from the date the cause of action arose.

Headnote:

Hypothecation Bonds - Recovery of Money - S.21(1) of the Travancore Limitation Act, VI of 1100 - S.19(1) of the Travancore Limitation Act - Payment and Acknowledgment - Fresh Period of Limitation - Cause of Action - Legal Representative - Immovable Property - Assignment

Fact of the Case:

The plaintiff filed a suit for recovery of money due under two hypothecation bonds executed by defendant 1. The defendant contested the suit on the grounds of lack of authority, discharge of debt, waiver of rights, and limitation. The courts found in favor of the plaintiff, but the lower appellate court dismissed the suit for the hypothecated properties. The plaintiff appealed.

Finding of the Court:

The court found that the acknowledgment made by defendant 1 on 21-12-1117 was valid under S.21(1) of the Travancore Limitation Act, VI of 1100, and saved the suit from limitation. The cause of action in respect of the second bond arose in 1115, and the suit filed in 1123 was not barred by limitation. The assignment by defendant 4 in favor of defendant 3 was valid, and the lower appellate court's decision was reversed.

Issues: The issues involved the validity of the plaintiff's suit for recovery of money under the hypothecation bonds, the acknowledgment's effectiveness in saving the suit from limitation, and the rights of the legal representative in the assignment of the bond.

Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the acknowledgment made by defendant 1 was valid under S.21(1) of the Travancore Limitation Act, VI of 1100, and saved the suit from limitation. The cause of action for the second bond arose in 1115, and the suit filed in 1123 was not barred by limitation. The assignment by defendant 4 in favor of defendant 3 was valid.

Final Decision: The second appeal was allowed, the decree of the lower appellate court was set aside, and that of the first court was restored.

Judgment :-

1. This second appeal arises out of a suit for recovery of money due under two hypothecation bonds The bonds were executed by defendant 1, and plaintiff sought to recover the amounts from both defendant 1 personally and the hypothecated properties. Exts. A and III are the two hypothecation bonds. Ext. A is a chitty hypothecation bond executed by defendant 1 on 9-1-1106 in favour of the Union Christian Bank, Kurupumpady, a partnership concern of which the plaintiff was the manager and which is not now in existence. The Union Christian Bank was conducting a chitty, and defendant 1, had subscribed a ticket in that chitty and prized the ticket on the 9th instalment. He received the prize amount and executed Ext. A hypothecating the plaint properties as security for payment of the subscriptions for the future instalments. The plaintiff's case was that defendant I had defaulted to pay the subscriptions from the 14th instalment which was on 25-4-1108 & that the Bank was entitled, under the terms of Ext A, to get a consolidated payment of the subscriptions for all the twelve instalments thereafter and interest on the consolidated amount from 25-4-1108. The suit was filed on 29-9-1123, and the plaintiff relied upon a payment of Rs. 8/- by defendant 1 on 21-12-1117 in partial discharge of the interest on the amount under Ext. A and the written acknowledgment (Ext. Al) of that payment signed by defendant 1, contained in Ext. A itself, to save the claim from limitation. Defendant 1 had executed another hypothecation bond also in respect of the plaint properties on 9-1-1106. Ext. III is that hypothecation bond. It was executed in favour of one Ahamed, who was a minor aged 3 years on the date of the hypothecation bond, and his grand-mother, Aisa Umma. Under the terms of Ext. III the principal amount thereof, namely, Rs. 300/-, was to be paid to Ahamed after he attained majority and the annual interest was to be paid to his grand-mother for and on his behalf till he attained majority. Sometime after the execution of Ext. III Ahamed died and after his death his sister, defendant 4, assigned Ext. III in favour of defendant 3, and the latter in his turn assigned the same to the Union Christian Bank. Ext. D dated 23-7-1117 is the assignment by defendant 4 in favour of defendant 3, and Ext. B dated 13-8-1117 is the assignment by defendant 3 in favour of the Bank According to the plaintiff, on 21-12-1117 defendant 1 paid Rs. 22 to the Bank in partial discharge of the interest on the amount under Ext III also and an acknowledgment (Ext. B1) of the payment was made in Ext. B and signed by him. So far as Ext. III was concerned, the plaintiff's case was that the cause of action in respect of the amount due thereunder arose only in 1121 when alone Ahamed would have attained majority if he had not died earlier. Plaintiff also relied upon the acknowledgment of payment, Ext. BI, as an acknowledgment saving the claim from limitation, if for any reason it was held that the cause of action in respect of Ext. III had arisen earlier. Claiming that he had been duly authorised by the Bank and the partners to realise the amounts due under the two hypothecation bonds, plaintiff brought the suit for recovery of the principal and interest due under Exts. A and III. A moiety of the principal was claimed in each case on account of arrears of interest. The suit was contested by defendant 2, who had taken a sale deed (Ext. IV) of the plaint properties from defendant 1 on 8-8-1111. His main contentions were that the plaintiff had no proper authority to file the suit, that the debt under Ext. III had been discharged and the Bank had waived its right to get the amount under Ext. A, that the cause of action in respect of Ext. III arose in 1110 when Ahamed had died, that the claims under both Exts. A and

III were barred by limitation, and that the acknowledgments relied upon by the plaintiff to save the suit from limitation were not binding on him and the plaint p


































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