(1.) The plaintiff sued to redeem and recover possession of the suit property after accounts had been taken under the Dekkhan Agriculturists Relief Act.
(2.) The property was originally mortgaged in 1836 by Shankar Janardhan Joshi for Rs. 100 repayable in ten years, to Ramchandra Motiram. Ramchandra sub- mortgaged the property to Rajaram Renukadas in 1841. Defendants Nos. 1 and 2 were in possession as his heirs. Ramchandra died without leaving heirs. The plaintiff, defendant 3 and one Vishwanath were the heirs of Shankar Janardhan, but Vishwanath renounced his rights in favour of plaintiff's father.
(3.) Primes facie a suit for redemption became time-barred in 1906 but the plaintiff relied upon a rent-note dated the 11 February of 1878 taken by Shankar Narhar the father of defendant No. 1 in which the property was described as the property mortgaged to you. Shankar Narhar presented the document for registration, and signed it. Shankar Narhar thereby acknowledged his liability as a mortgagee to be redeemed by his mortgagor Ramchandra Motiram or his successors. The learned trial Judge appears to have come to the conclusion that Shankar also by the same signature acknowledged his liability to be redeemed by the original mortgagor and decreed the plaintiff's claim. The learned Assistant Judge was of opinion that as the acknowledgment was made by the sub- mortgagee, it was not intended to acknowledge the original mortgage also. Admitting that Shankar knew that Ramchandra Motiram was himself only a mortgagee of the property, he was not concerned with the question whether time was running in favour of Ramchandra against his mortgagor and I am not prepared to give an extended meaning to Shankar's signature on the rent-note so as to make it an acknowledgment under Section 19 of the Indian Limitation Act XV of 1877 of a liability to be redeemed by the original mortgagor with whom he had no privity.