Section 19 of the Limitation Act, 1963: Benefit Cannot Be Claimed Without Pleading and Proof — Supreme Court Affirms in Shanti Conductors Case
Overview of the Review Proceedings
The Supreme Court of India, through its order dated 18/12/2019, dismissed a batch of review petitions filed against a common judgment dated 23 January 2019. The review petitions were registered as Review Petition (C) Nos. 786–787, 788 and 789 of 2019. The original judgment had decided Civil Appeal Nos. 8442–8443 of 2016, Civil Appeal No. 8450 of 2016, and Civil Appeal No. 8445 of 2016, all of which were dismissed by the earlier bench. The review proceedings arose primarily from the case of Shanti Conductors Private Limited Vs Assam State Electricity Board And Ors., and involved connected petitioners raising distinct but related grounds. The Court examined each review petition separately and ultimately found no merit in any of them.
Background Facts: The Shanti Conductors Dispute
Supply Contracts and the Emergence of the 1993 Act
The Assam State Electricity Board issued two supply orders to Shanti Conductors Private Limited on 31.03.1992 and 13.05.1992 for the supply of aluminium electrical conductors. The petitioner fulfilled these orders through a series of deliveries commencing in June 1992 and concluding on 04.10.1993.
During this period, the President of India promulgated an Ordinance on 23.09.1992 to regulate the payment of interest on delayed dues owed to small-scale industries. This Ordinance was subsequently enacted as The Interest on Delayed Payments to Small Scale and Ancillary Industrial Undertakings Act, 1993 (hereinafter referred to as "Act, 1993"), operative with effect from 23.09.1992.
Writ Proceedings and Recovery of Principal
A Writ Petition (C) No. 1351 of 1993 was instituted before the Guwahati High Court by the Assam Conductors Manufacturers Association on behalf of five of its member enterprises, including Shanti Conductors Private Limited, seeking recovery of outstanding dues. The Guwahati High Court passed an interim order on 21.07.1993 observing that the respondents may settle the outstanding bills. Pursuant to this, the Assam State Electricity Board paid approximately Rs. 2.15 Crores in instalments to the petitioner, with the final instalment being released on 05.03.1994.
Filing of the Money Suit and Subsequent Proceedings
Although the principal amount was fully recovered, Shanti Conductors Private Limited filed Money Suit No. 21 of 1997 on 10.01.1997 before the Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) No. 1 at Guwahati, seeking a decree of Rs. 53,68,492.56 representing interest alone on the principal amounts already received.
On 28.08.1997, the writ petition filed by the Association was dismissed, with the court directing parties to pursue remedies before the civil court. The trial court, on 02.02.2000, decreed the money suit in favour of the petitioner for Rs. 51,60,507.42 along with future interest at 23.75% per annum on a monthly compounding basis.
High Court and Supreme Court Journey
An appeal — RFA No. 66 of 2000 — was filed. The Division Bench referred three questions to a Full Bench, which answered the reference on 05.03.2002. The Assam State Electricity Board filed Special Leave Petition (C) No. 24577 of 2002, later converted to Civil Appeal No. 2351 of 2003. The Supreme Court dismissed this civil appeal on 10.07.2012 in M/s. Assam State Electricity Board Vs. M/s. Shanti Conductors Pvt. Ltd., along with Civil Appeal No. 2348 of 2003 in M/s. Purbanchal Cables and Conductors Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Assam State Electricity Board.
Following dismissal of these appeals, the Division Bench of the High Court allowed RFA No. 66 of 2000 filed by the respondents and dismissed the petitioner's suit. Civil Appeal Nos. 8442–8443 of 2016 were then filed by the petitioner. Two judges of the Supreme Court delivered divergent opinions, as reported in (2016) 16 SCC Page 13. The matter was referred to a Three-Judge Bench, which, by its judgment dated 23.01.2019, dismissed all the appeals including upholding the finding that the money suit filed by Shanti Conductors Private Limited was barred by limitation.
Core Legal Issue in the Review: Section 19 of the Limitation Act, 1963
The Petitioner's Contention
The petitioner's senior counsel contended that the judgment dated 23.01.2019 contained an apparent error in holding the suit time-barred. The argument advanced was that since the Board made its last payment on 05.03.1994, a fresh three-year limitation period was triggered under Section 19 of the Limitation Act, 1963, running from 05.03.1994. The suit having been filed on 10.01.1997 was therefore within time. It was argued that Section 19 had escaped the Court's attention while examining the limitation question, amounting to an error apparent on the face of the record requiring correction.
The petitioner also urged entitlement to exclusion of time under
Section 14of the Limitation Act, 1963 on the basis that Writ Petition (C) No. 1351 of 1993 filed by the Assam Conductors Manufacturers Association — of which the petitioner was a member — was pending from 1993 until its dismissal on 28.08.1997, and this period ought to have been excluded while computing limitation for the money suit.