JOSEPH Vs. VARGHESE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) S. 3 of the Travancore -Cochin act III of 1956 provides: (1) No suit for recovery of a debt shall be instituted. . . against any agriculturist in any civil.,. court before the expiry of six months from the commencement of this Act. . . (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (I), where a creditor files a suit for recovery of a debt during the period specified in sub-section (1 ). . . the court shall in decreeing the suit direct the plaintiff to bear his own costs and to pay the costs of the defendant who is an agriculturist. . . " The question then is whether the suit has been filed within the period of moratorium mentioned in the section. It is conceded that the Act came into force on September 11 ,1956 ; and that by virtue of S. 3 of the Travancore -Cochin Interpretation and General Clauses Act VII of 1125, the Act has come into force from the first moment of the 11th day of september, 1956.

(2.) S. 8 of the aforesaid Act VII of 1125 reads: "in any Act, it shall be sufficient, for the purpose of excluding the first in a series of days or any other period of time to use the word 'from', and for the purpose of including the last in a series of clays or any other period of time to use the word 'to' " Obviously the section refers to calculation of time in terms of a series of days or any other period of time such as a week, month, or year, & provides that if the period to be reckoned is mentioned as commencing from a day, week, month or year the first day, week, month or year is to be excluded from computation. But the period of moratorium prescribed in s. 3 of Act III of 1956 is six months from the commencement of the Act. It is not to be reckoned from a day, but from an event, namely the commencement of the Act, indicating thereby that the period of moratorium synchronises with the first six months of the Act being in force, To such a provision, S. 8 of the Interpretation and General Clauses Act provides no guidance.