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Limitation period under the Estates Land Act I of 1908 for a suit by a land-holder against a ryot for rent due under a registered instrument. Analysis: The main issue in this case was the applicability of the limitation period under the Estates Land Act I of 1908 to a suit by a land-holder against a ryot for rent due under a registered instrument. The suit was filed after the Estates Land Act came into force, and the question was whether the suit was barred by limitation under Part A, Article 8 of the Schedule to the Act, which provides a three-year limitation period from the date the rent became due. Both lower courts held the suit was time-barred under this provision. The contention in the second appeal was that the Act should not apply to cases where the three-year limitation period had expired before the Act came into force. This argument was based on the interpretation of Article 116 of the Limitation Act, which allowed six years for suits based on registered instruments. The judges referred to a previous case where a similar issue was considered, and one judge upheld the contention while the other disagreed, citing the clear language of Section 210 of the Estates Land Act. After thorough consideration, the judges concluded that the rule of limitation in the Estates Land Act I of 1908 should not apply to cases where the three-year period had elapsed before the Act came into force. They emphasized the principle that the law of limitation applicable to a suit is that in force at the time of its institution, whether shorter or longer than the previous statute. They also highlighted the importance of not giving retrospective effect to a statute to affect vested rights. The judges discussed various legal principles and precedents regarding retrospective application of statutes and vested rights. They concluded that applying the limitation rule in the Estates Land Act to cases where the three-year period had already lapsed would effectively deprive the plaintiff of a vested right of action. They also clarified that the Act's provisions were subject to the general rules of interpretation and that the suit in question should not be barred by limitation under the Act. In light of their analysis, the judges reversed the decrees of the lower courts and remanded the suit for further proceedings in the Court of first instance, emphasizing that all costs up to date would abide the result of the suit.
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