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Issues Involved: Recovery of loan amount, acknowledgment of liability, relinquishment of claim, limitation period, validity of balance sheet as acknowledgment.
Issue-wise Detailed Analysis: 1. Recovery of Loan Amount: The appellant, who was the President of the Akhilakerala Viswakarma Maha Sabha (the Sabha), claimed to have advanced loans to the Sabha between 1963 and 1967. The balance sheet dated 31-12-1966 reflected a due amount of Rs. 11,763.48, which was acknowledged in subsequent balance sheets. The trial court upheld the appellant's claim that loans were indeed advanced to the Sabha and that the amounts shown in the balance sheets for 1966 and 1967 were genuinely owed to him. However, the court limited the recovery to amounts advanced within three years prior to 6-5-1967, considering amounts advanced before this period as barred by limitation. 2. Acknowledgment of Liability: The appellant argued that the balance sheets served as an acknowledgment of liability under Section 18 of the Limitation Act, 1963. The balance sheets for the years 1966 to 1970, signed by various office bearers including the appellant, were presented as evidence. The court agreed that the inclusion of the debt in the balance sheets, prepared and authenticated by the Board of Directors and approved by the general body, amounted to an acknowledgment of liability. This acknowledgment satisfied the requirements under Section 18, thereby extending the limitation period. 3. Relinquishment of Claim: The respondents contended that the appellant had relinquished his claim during a general body meeting on 27-5-1967. The minutes of the meeting, recorded in Ext. B1, initially suggested that the appellant agreed to accept the amount in installments but were later corrected to reflect that he did not want the amount at all. The appellant admitted to making these corrections but argued that he merely meant he did not want the amount in installments. The court found that subsequent balance sheets and payments made by the Sabha contradicted the claim of relinquishment, indicating no intention to forgo the amount. 4. Limitation Period: The trial court held that the appellant was entitled to recover only the amounts advanced within three years prior to 6-5-1967, as the balance sheet dated 6-5-1967 served as an acknowledgment of liability. Amounts advanced before this period were considered barred by limitation. The court also noted that the acknowledgment in the balance sheets extended the limitation period for the amounts advanced within the permissible timeframe. 5. Validity of Balance Sheet as Acknowledgment: The court examined whether the balance sheets could be considered a valid acknowledgment of liability. It was established that a balance sheet, prepared and authenticated by the Board of Directors and approved by the general body, constituted an acknowledgment of liability under Section 18 of the Limitation Act. The court cited various precedents supporting this view, including cases like Rajah of Vizianagaram v. The Official Liquidator and Babulal Hukmanand v. Official Liquidator. Conclusion: The appeals and cross-objections were dismissed. The court upheld the trial court's decision to grant a decree in favor of the appellant for amounts not barred by limitation as of 6-5-1967, less any amounts paid subsequently. The balance sheets were deemed valid acknowledgments of liability, and the claim of relinquishment was rejected based on subsequent conduct and documentary evidence. The parties were ordered to bear their respective costs.
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