DAMODHARAN CHETTIAR Vs. RAJAMANICKAM UDAYAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE civil revision petitions are filed against the orders passed in four un-numbered money suits filed before the District Munsif, tiruvannamalai.

(2.) SHORT facts are: Regarding C. R. P. No. 1543 of 1988, the suit was filed on 11. 12. 1981 on the foot of two pronotes dated 30. 7. 1974 and 20. 6. 1976 out of which endorsement of payment of Rs. 120 was made in the first pronote on 20. 6. 1976 According to the plaintiff, the defendant is the debtor and is entitled to the benefit of the Debt Relief Act and so the period from 16. 1. 1975 to 12. 6. 1979 is to be excluded and so the suit filed on 11. 12. 1981 is in time. The court below had held that inasmuch as the endorsement in the first pronote was dated 20. 6. 1976, the period of limitation is to be computed from 20. 6. 1976. It has further held that the embargo for filing of the suits by virtue of the Debt Relief Act came to end by 15. 7. 1978 and 3 years therefrom would come to 15. 7. 1981 and since the suit was filed on 11. 12. 1981. It was filed beyond the period of limitation and so it is barred by time and has rejected the plaint.

(3.) I have carefully considered the submissions made by the learned counsels. To consider the rival submissions I have to consider first the submission made by Miss Sumathi that Sec. 6 of Act 39 of 1979 has not come into force. Act XXXIX of 1979 had received the assent of the President on 11. 6. 1979 and it was published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette, extraordinary to Part IV, Sec. 2, dated 13. 6. 1979 at pages 177-180. Sec. 2 reads as follows: "sec. 2: Secs. 2, 3 and 4 shall be deemed to have come into force on the 29th July, 1976. " There are Amendments to the said sections in the main act. Sec. 6 reads as follows: "sec. 6: Exclusion of time for limitation and dissolution of stay of proceedings in respect of certain suits and applications: (1) Where, on or after the 15th day of January, 1976,but before the date of the publication of this Act in the Tamil Nadu Gazette, any suit for the recovery of amount towards any debt, as is referred to in Sub-sec. (l) of Sec. 5 could have been instituted on any application for the execution of a decree passed in any such suit or the making of the application was barred by Sec. 3 of the Tamil nadu Indebted Agriculturists (Temporary Relief) Act, 1976 (President's act XV of 1976) or Sec. 4 of the Tamil Nadu Indebted Persons (Temporary Relief)Act, 1976 (President's Act XVI of 1976) as the case may be, then in computing the period of limitation, or limit of time prescribed for such suit or application, the period commencing on and from the 15th day of January, 1976 and ending with the date of the publication of this Act in the Tamil Nadu government Gazette shall be excluded. " The date of publication of this Act in the Tamil Nadu government Gazette was 13. 6. 1979.