Ratio-Execution petition praying for impleading one out of three legal representatives of deceased decree-holder can save limitation.

The question that arises for determination in this appeal is whether the execution application filed by the decree-holder in E.A.No. 2881 of 1963 on 16th September, 1963 is barred by time under Article 182 of the Limitation Act. The decree-holder in this case obtained on 10th March, 1954, a decree against one Sundararajan Chetti and another. Sundararajan Chetti died on 20th February, 1955. On 9th March, 1957, the decree-holder filed E.P. No. 364 of 1957, praying for impleading Ranga-nayaki, the wife of Sundararaja Chetti as his legal representative and for execution of the decree against the assets of Sundararaja Chetti in the hands of Ranganayaki. On the same day C.M.P. No. 714 of 1957 was filed by the decree-holder praying for impleading Ranganayaki as a legal representative. Evidently at the time when those petitions were filed, the decree-holder was not aware that the deceased Sundararaja Chetti had left him surviving not only his widow but also his two sons. Notice was taken out to Ranganayaki in E.P. No. 364 of 1957 in C.M.P. No. 714 of 1957 but it was not served for want of the correct address of Ranganayaki. Therefore fresh steps were ordered, but the decree-holder failed to take steps with the result on 8th October, 1957 E.P. No. 364 of 1957 was dismissed by the Court. Subsequently on 3rd October, 1960, that is to say, within three years after the final order on the previous E.P., the decree-holder filed E.A.No. 3041 of 1960 for transmission of the decree to the District Munsif’s Court, Kancheepuram, for impleading Ranganayaki the proposed legal representative. This application was ordered by the Court on 13th October, 1960 but without notice to the proposed legal representative. On 27th March, 1961 the decree-holder filed E.A.No. 1365 of 1961 praying that the decree sent to the Kancheepuram Court might be recalled in order to enable the decree-holder to bring on record Ranganayaki, Swami-nathan and Narayanan as the legal representatives of the deceased judgment debtor. On 19th April, 1961 the Court, without issuing notice to the proposed legal representatives, passed an order recalling the decree. On 16th September, 1963 the decree-holder filed E.A.No. 2881 of 1963, in which he prayed for impleading, the legal representatives and for transmission of the decree to the District Munsif’s Court, Kancheepuram. The legal representatives of the judgment debtor filed a counter to this application, and contended that this E.A. was barred by time. This objection was overruled by the executing Court and it is against this order the present appeal has been filed.

2. Under Article 182, clause 5 of the Limitation Act, 1908, the decree-holder has a period of three years for filing his execution application and the time from which this period begins to run is the date of the final order passed on an application made in accordance with law to the proper Court for execution or to take some step-in-aid of execution of the decree or order. The present application has been filed within three years after the final order in E.A. No. 3041 of 1960 as well as within three years after the final order in E.A.No. 1365 of 1961. The former of these two execution applications was for transmission of the decree to the District Munsif’s Court, Kancheepuram and for impleading Ranganayaki as the legal representative of the deceased judgment debtor. Transmission was ordered as. prayed for on 13th October, 1960 being a step-in-aid of the execution of the decree, the decree-holder is entitled to reckon the period of three years from 13th October, 1960 on which date E.A.No. 3041 of 1960 was ordered. The E.A. in dispute has been filed within three years and is therefore not barred by time. As for E.A. No. 1365 of 1961, which was for recalling the decree sent to the District Munsif’s Court, Kancheepuram to enable the decree-holder to bring on record the three legal representatives of the deceased, it is in my view clearly a step-in-aid of execution an