DEVCHAND CHATRAJI Vs. JAMSHEDJI SHAPURJI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) One Sorabji Rustomji and Jamshedji Shapurji signed an entry in the plaintiff's book to the effect that they had borrowed Re. 599 which they promised to pay. Payments were made on account which appeared in the handwriting of Sorabji, with the signature of Jamshedji Shapurji added The plaintiff relied upon these entries as saving limitation under Section 20 of the Indian Limitation Act. The learned Judge held that the claim against Jamshedji, the first defendant in the suit, was time-barred, and that although he was present at the time when the payments were made, still as he had not himself written the fact that he made the payment, the payment could be of no use against him as part-payment in his own hand. If that view were correct, then it would be, in my opinion, a very startling interpretation of the law. Where two persons are liable on a debt embodied in a Khata and they make payments towards satisfaction of the debt, then it would be absurd to suppose that the law required that it would be necessary that both persons should make entries in the creditor's book. Section 20 of the Indian Limitation Act prescribes that when part of the principal of a debt is, before the expiration of the prescribed period, paid by the debtor or by his agent duly authorised in this behalf, a new period of limitation shall be computed from the time when the payment was made: provided that, in the case of part-payment of the principal of a debt, the fact of the payment appears in the handwriting of the person making the same.

(2.) By Section 21(2) nothing in Secs.19 and 20 renders one of several joint contractors chargeable by reason only of a written acknowledgment signed, or of a payment made by, or by the agent of, any other or others of them. The effect of that is that if one of two joint contractors has done anything which starts a new period of limitation, then that new period starts only as against him, not as against his joint contractor.

(3.) In this case, however, Jamshedji authorised the second defendant to make payments towards the reduction of the joint debt, and signified that, not only by being present when the payment was made, but by signing underneath. In my opinion, that clearly amounted to an acknowledgment that the liability was continuing.