Appeals Nos 116 117 and 119 of 1967
Appeals from the judgment and decrees dated May 19 1966 of the Allahabad High Court in First Appeals Nos
441 of 1950 198 of 1952 and 442 of 1950 respectively
section V Gupte section T Desai J P Goyal and G N Wantoo or the appellants in all the appeals
Sidhartha Ray A K Sen Rameshwar Nath Krishna Sen and Swaranjit Sodhi for the respondent in all the appeals
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Shelat J
Prior to January 18 1944 Ms Lakshmiratan Cotton Mills Co Ltd hereinafter referred to as the appellant company Aluminium Corporation of India Ltd hereinafter referred to as the corporation JK Limited Beharilal Kailashpat India Supplies Northern India Trading Co and Northern India Brush Manufacturing Co Ltd were all jointly managed by two groups who may conveniently be called the Singhania and the Gupta groups
Disputes having arisen between them they were referred to arbitration by a deed of reference dated December 9 1943
It is not necessary to go into the details of the award dated January 18 1944 by which these disputes were adjudi 626 cated upon except that from and after the date of the award the aforesaid concerns were brought under the management and control of one or the other of the said two groups
The corporation came under the control and management of the Singhania group
Cl 9 of the award provided as follows The above award or directions in respect of Laxmi Ratan Cotton Mills Co Ltd Aluminium Corporation of India Ltd J K Ltd Beharilal Kailashpat India Supplies Northern India Trading Co and Northern Brush Manufacturing Co do not cover the advances which either party or their separate firms may have made to all or any of them or their moneys which may be in deposit with them and they shall be payable and paid in their usual course According to the appellants there existed in their trading books accounts in respect of amounts advanced or spent by them for  the corporation in respect of which cl
9 of the award specifically made provision for and also for interest due thereon
After the award was made the appellant company sent a statement of account to the corporation but this was objected to on the ground that the appellant company during the course of the previous joint management of the corporation had not properly maintained the accounts and that several items were either not properly accounted for or entered into
Correspondence thereafter ensued between the parties
The parties also appointed their respective officers to meet and reconcile their respective accounts the corporation being represented by its Secretary cumChief Accountant one Subramanayam and the appellant company sometimes by one Arora and at other times by one Newatia
Since no settlement could be arrived at the appellants filed two suits claiming Rs 356207 9 6 and Rs 72595 4 6 from the corporation being Suit Nos 63 and 65 of 1949
In para 14 of the plaint in Suit No 63 of 1949 it was claimed that the suit was within time as after adjustment of several items in 1946 and 1947 a sum of Rs 296110 11 6 was found due to the appellant company and that in any event the suit was saved from being barred by limitation by a letter dated April 16 1946 addressed by the said Subramanayam thereby acknowledging the liability of the corporation to pay the amount which would be found due and payable under the said accounts
Similar averments were also made in the plaint in Suit No 65 of 1949
The written statements filed by the corporation inter alia pleaded that the said claims were barred by limitation 627 LAKSHMIRATAN COTTON MILLS V ALUMINIUM CORP 627 Shelat J that the said letter did not amount to an acknowledgement within the meaning of section 19 of the Limitation Act 1908 which was then applicable to the suits and lastly that even if the said letter did amount to an acknowledgment it was not binding on the corporation as the said Subramanayam had no authority to make any such acknowledgement for and on behalf of and binding on the corporation
On the question of limitation the Trial Court raised three questions for its determination 1 whether the letter exhibit 1 was binding on the corporation 2 whether it amounted to an acknowledgement and 3 if so whether it would extend the period of limitation so as to save the claims made by the appellants from being barred
On consideration of the evidence both oral and documentary the Trial Court held in favour of the appellants on all the three questions and passed decrees in both the suits
Three appeals were filed in the High Court against those decrees two by the corporation and the third by the appellant company as the claim allowed in its favour was for a reduced amount
As framed by the High Court the question common to all the three appeals was whether the said letter exhibit 1 amounted to an acknowledgement extending the period of limitation
The High Court on consideration of the correspondence between the parties and the other evidence reached the conclusion that the letter exhibit 1 was merely explanatory and was not meant to bind the corporation that even if it did amount to  some kind of acknowledgement its author the said Subramanayam bad no authority to acknowledge any debt or liability on behalf of the corporation
In this view the High Court held the two suits barred by limitation and allowed the corporations appeals
It rejected the appellant company s appeal and dismissed the two suits
Hence these three appeals under certificates granted by the High Court
It was never disputed that except for the letter exhibit 1 relied on by the appellant company provided it amounted to an acknowledgement binding on the corporation the claims of the appellants would be barred by limitation
Consequently the questions for determination in these appeals are the same as the ones before the High Court
These questions were canvassed before us in their three aspects firstly whether the letter exhibit 1 amounted to an acknowledgement secondly if it did whether it was an acknowledgement by the corporation and thirdly if not whether the said Subramanyam who addressed it had the authority express or implied to acknowledge liability on behalf of the I corporation so as to bind that corporation
Counsel for the appellant company sought to argue that in as much as the letter exhibit 1 was written by the corporation s 628 Secretary who also combined the position of the Chief Accountant and furthermore addressed that letter for and on behalf of the corporation the letter was of and by the corporation
Therefore if the letter amounts to an acknowledgement such acknowledgement would be by the corporation itself and no enquiry would then be necessary to ascertain whether the said Subramanayam had the authority to acknowledge the liability so as to bind the corporation
No such plea however is to be found in the plant which merely stated that there are several letters constituting acknowledgement of the unsettled account
The plaintiff files one of such letters which is dated 16th April 1946
 The written statement denied that the corporation ever made any acknowledgement or that the letter of April 16 1946 was any such acknowledgement
It further denied that Subra manayam who wrote it had any authority to acknowledge any debt
Such a comprehensive denial notwithstanding no issue was raised covering the argument now urged that the said letter was and must be treated as one of or by the corporation and that therefore there was no question of Subramanayam having or not having the authority to make an acknowledgement on behalf of the corporation
No such argument also appears to have been made either in the Trial Court or the High Court where the controversy was centered around the question whether the said letter contained an acknowledgement and whether its writer addressing it on behalf of the corporation had the authority to make such an acknowledgement binding on the corporation
In our view Mr Gupte could not at such a belated stage raise for the first time the plea that it was the corporation which through the said letter made the acknowledgement and that we should understand that letter to mean such an acknowledgement by the corporation itself
The question therefore that really arises for our determination is whether the said letter contains an acknowledgement which its writer Subramanyam had the authority express or implied to make
Even that question gets reduced in extent and scope as it was never the case of the appellant company at any stage that the corporation had clothed its Secretary with such authority expressly
Such a case Mr Gupte did not make out even before us and proceeded in fact to argue that the evidence on record showed that he had such authority given to him impliedly
191 of the Limitation Act 1908 provides that where before the expiration of the period prescribed for a suit in respect of any property or right an acknowledgement of liability in respect of such property or right has been made in writing signed by the party against whom such property or right is claimed a fresh period of limitation shall be computed from the time 629 when the acknowledgement was so signed
The expression signed  here means not only signed personally by such a party but also by an agent duly authorised in that behalf
Explanation 1 to the section then provides that an acknowledgement would be sufficient though it omits to specify the exact nature of the property or right or avers that the time for payment has not yet come or is accompanied by a refusal to pay or is coupled with a claim to a set off or is addressed to a person other than the person entitled to the property or right
The new Act of 1963 contains in section 18 substantially similar provisions
It is clear that the statement on which the plea of acknow ledgement is founded must relate to a subsisting liability as the section requires that it must be made before the expiration of the period prescribed under the Act
It need not however amount to a promise to pay for an acknowledgement does not create a new right to action but merely extends the period of limitation
The statement need not indicate the exact nature or the specific character of the liability
The words used in the statement in question however must relate to a present subsisting liability and indicate the existence of jural relationship between the parties such as for instance that of a debtor and a creditor and the intention to admit such jural relationship
Such an intention need not be in express terms and can be inferred by implication from the nature of the admission and the surrounding circumstances
Generally speaking a liberal construction of the statement in question should be given
That of course does not mean that where a statement is made without intending to admit the existence of jural relationship such intention should be fastened on the person making the statement by an involved and far fetched reasoning
see Khan Bahadur Shapoor Freedom Mazda vs Durga Prosad Chamaria1 And Tilak Ram vs Nathu2
As Fry LJ in Green vs Humphreys3 said an acknowledgement is an admission by the writer that there is a debt owing by him either to the receiver of the letter or to some other person on whose behalf the letter is received but it is not enough that he refers to a debt as being due from somebody
In order to take the case out of the statute there must upon the fair construction of the letter read in the light of the surrounding circumstances be an admission that the writer owes the debt
 As already stated the person making the acknowledgement can be both the debtor himself as also a person duly authorised by him to make the admission
In Khan Bahadur 1 2 A I R  at 938 939
3 at 481
13 L436 Sup C 171 630 Shapoor Fredoom Mazda s case1 the Court accepted a statement in a letter by a bortgagor to a second mortgagee to save the mortgaged property from being sold away at a cheap price at the instance of the prior mortgagee by himself purchasing it as one amounting to an admission of the jural relationship of a mortgagor and mortgage and therefore to an acknowledgement within section 19
Also an agreement of reference to arbitration containing an unqualified admission that whoever on account should be proved to be the debtor would pay to the other has been held to amount to an acknowledgement
Such an admission is not subject to the condition that before the agreement should operate as an acknowledgement the liability must be ascertained by the arbitrator
The acknowledgement operates whether the arbitrator acts or not
see Tejpal Saraogi vs Lallanjee Jain2 approving Abdul Rahim Oosman  Co vs Ojamshee Prushottamdas  Co 3
The letter exhibit 1 relied on as an acknowledgement was written to the appellant company by Subramanayam signing it for Aluminium Corporation of India Ltd it consists of Several paragraphs dealing with diverse items relating to different amounts claimed by the appellant company in a statement of claim previously sent by it to the corporation some of which are refuted by the writer while the others are accepted
The penultimate paragraph which is said to contain the admission reads as follows After all the above adjustments the position will be as per statement attached
Interest has been provided on some balances and on others it has not been provided
We request you to confirm the balance of Rs 107477 13 11 so that we may proceed with the calculation of interest and settle your claim once and for all immediately
Kindly acknowledge this letter and favour us with an immediate reply
 The letter speaks in the last sentence of a copy of it to be sent to Lala Purshottam Dasji Singhania for information
The co of the letter as is clear from the other evidence as also the words for information was not sent for approval and was obviously not intended to be subject to such approval by Purushottam Singhania
The statement enclosed with the letter headed Account of Ms Lakshmiratan Cotton Mills Co Ltd  and first sets out the balance of Rs 100760 0 7 in favour of 1 2 CA No 766 of 1962 decided
on Feb 8 1965
3 1928 1
L R 631 the appellant com any as per our ledger meaning the ledger of the corporation and the first foot note thereto states that that amount included interest of Rs 26490 11 10 calculated upto March 31 1943
Several amounts due to other concerns payable to or by the appellant company are then adjusted and finally the balance is struck at Rs 107447 13 11 which is the one mentioned in the letter exhibit 1 which if confirmed by the appellant company the corporation would settle your claim once and for all immediately The High Court as aforesaid held contrary to the view of the Trial Court that these letter was only explanatory and was not intended to be an admission of liability or of the jural relationship between the parties as debtor and creditor
Counsel for the corporation also argued in support of the High Court s view that the letter was written in the process of adjustment and reconciliation of the statement of claim addressed by the appellant company and a counter statement to it by the corporation and therefore could not be held to be one intended as an admission of liability on the part of the corporation and that in any event Subramanayam who wrote it had no authority to acknowledge any such liability on behalf of the corporation
Before we proceed to inquire into the correctness or other wise of the High Court s view in regard to the letter exhibit 1 it would be necessary to examine the correspondence which previously ensued between the parties and the surrounding circumstances which led to that letter
As already stated under cl
9 of the award by which the concerns once jointly controlled were separated moneys advanced by either of the parties or their firms or standing in deposit with them were to be payable by one to the other
The award also directed the Gupta group to hand over to the Singhanias account books and other papers and files relating to the corporation
Accordingly the Guptas handed them over to the corporation on February 1 1944
The complaint of the corporation was that these books had not been properly posted up and contained discrepancies and that the corporation consequently required the help of the Guptas to finalise them
Early in March 1945 the appellant company had also sent a statement of account in respect of the amounts due and payable to it by the corporation
On April 20 1945 one Col Naidu a director of the corporation wrote to the appellant company pointing out from the said statement of account certain items which the corporation disputed
On 11th12th September 1945 the appellant company sent a statement of account claiming Rs 294000 and odd as payable to it
On December 17 1945 63 2 a reply thereto was given by a letter sent by Lakshmipat Singhania the director incharge of the corporation mentioning various items disputed by the corporation and the efforts made by it to reconcile those items and enclosed with that reply a reconciliation statement showing the true position according to the corporation
Among other things the reply stated as follows You will find from the above that we have tried our level best to see that these accounts are settled as early as possible as we have been very anxious for finalising but unfortunately there has been absolutely no response from your side
From the reconciliation statement you will find that according to our books amount due to the Laxmi Ratan Cotton Mills Co Ltd is Rs 98101 3 1 which includes interest calculated and credited to your account up to 31st March 1943
The interest from that date till the date of settlement is further to be calculated when this account is properly reconciled and confirmed by you
 The reply pointed out that as against the said amount of Rs 98101 3 1 the corporation claimed Rs 38490 2 2 and Rs 8256 13 6 which according to it had to be adjusted
Lastly the reply threatened that unless the accounts were finalised within a month we will not be paying you any interest on any of your dues beyond 30th September 1945 
The position as stated in the statement enclosed with the reply was as follows Reconciliation of Accounts of Ms Lakshmiratan Cotton Mills Co Ltd Balance as per ACI Ltd Books Rs 98101 3 1 Balance as per statement Rs 294658 0 9 Difference Rs 196556 13 8 Then followed detailed items claimed by the corporation totalling Rs 196556 13 8
The statement referred to above was the one under which the appellant company claimed Rs 294658 0 9 and which was sent earlier in March 1945 by Ram Ratan Gupta to Purushottam Singhania
The corporation took objection to it by claiming various amounts and against which according to the corporation only a sum of Rs 98101 3 1 was payable by it as per ACI Ltd Books that is to say as shown by the books of account maintained by the corporation
The reply of the appellant company dated December 6 1945 to the 633 of the appellant company dated December 6 1945 to the afore aforesaid letter of September 17 1945 and the statement enclosed thereto shows that the said Arora on behalf of the appellant company and the said Subramanayam on behalf of the corporation met and tried to reconcile the accounts
The appellant company by this reply also sent particulars of certain items apparently called for by Subramanayam at that meeting and in its turn asked for particulars of certain items debited to it in the said reconciliation statement
On December 21 1945 Subra manayam replied to the appellant company s letter of December 6 1945
By that letter he conveyed two things 1 that in respect of certain items claimed by the appellant company and which were disputed those items were either passed or disallowed and 2 that since the appellant company had combined in its statement of claim accounts of other allied concerns also he too had combined those accounts while preparing the statement of accounts he was sending along with his letter
The letter concluded by stating  we herewith enclose a consolidated statement after merging all these accounts
 The consolidated state ment exhibit 44 enclosed by Subramanayam with his reply reads as follows  Accounts of Messrs Lakshmiratan Cotton Mills Co Ltd 1945 December 1
By balance as per our ledger Rs 100304 7 7 Then follow accounts of other concerns whose accounts were brought in in what Subramainayam called the consolidated statement of account
This statement reflected the position of the appellant company in the corporation s books of accounts as on December 1 1945
It will be noticed that the amount admitted in the statement by the corporation as due to the appellant company rose from Rs 98000 and odd as per the earlier statement dated September 17 1945 to Rs 100304 7 7
This increase was due to the fact that while adjusting the disputed items
Subramanayam had allowed and passed some of them between September and December 1945 when the disputed items were discussed and adjusted and entries relating to those which were passed were posted to the credit of the appellant company in the books of the corporation
The letter of December 21 1945 was replied to by the appel lant company on February 25 1946 by asking particulars in 63 4 respect of item claimed by Subramanayam in his said letter
It was in answer to this letter that Subramanayam wrote the letter exhibit 1 in controversy and with which he sent the statement showing Rs 107447 13 11 as Balance carried down
Correspondence continued thereafter between the parties the appellant company maintaining that a much larger amount was due to it than the sum of Rs 107447 13 11
Except that the later correspondence would not throw any light on the question as to acknowledgement and therefore we need now detain ourselves on it
Leaving aside for the time being the question as to Subra manayam s authority the following facts emerge from the correspondence and the statements of accounts accompanying some of the letters sent on behalf of the corporation  a In pursuance of cl
9 of the said award the appellant company sent to the corporation in the beginning of March 1945 a statement of account claiming Rs 294000 and odd as due to it
b At no time during the lengthy correspondence which ensued between the parties the corporation denied its liability to pay what it did was
to dispute the correctness of the amount claimed by the appellant company by challenging certain items for which the appellant company claimed credit and by making certain counter claims of its own
As against the statement of account sent by the appellant company the corporation sent its own statement which it called the reconciliation account 
c During the process of adjustment and reconciliation of the several items claimed by the appellant company some were allowed and some were rejected and the corporation sought to debit certain items claimed by it against the appellant company
d According to the reconciliation statement sent by the corporation on September 17 1945 only Rs 98000 and odd was due to the appellant company as against its claim for Rs 294000 and odd
Later this figure was raised from time to time as some of the items claimed by the appellant company were allowed 6 3 5 with the result that in the statement sent along with the letter exhibit 1  the balance due to the appellant company was shown at Rs 107447
e The statements of accounts Exs 43 and 44 and the one enclosed with the letter exhibit 1  in clear terms stated that the balances shown therein were as shown in the ledger maintained by the corporation
The letters equally clearly stated that interest on such balances was being credited up to certain dates and for the further period would be credited when the accounts were finalised
It must follow from these facts that there was a subsisting
account in the name of the appellant company in the books of the corporation in which interest on the balance shown therein from time to time was being credited and in which amounts in respect of items passed during the course of reconciliation were also being credited
The statement in the letter exhibit 1 that after all the above adjustments the position will be as per statement attached that is to say that there was a balance of Rs 107447 13 11 due and payable to theappellant company must clearly amount to an acknowledgement within the meaning of section 191
In our view if the letter exhibit 1 were to be looked at in the background of the controversy between the parties which controversy was as aforesaid limited to the question as to the correctness of the amount claimed by the appellant company as also the correspondence which ensued in regard to it it would be impossible to say that the letter exhibit 1 and the statement of account enclosed therewith were merely explanatory and did not amount to an admission of the jural relationship of debtor and creditor and of the liability to pay the amount found due at the foot of the account on finalisation
But the argument was that since the letter exhibit 1 called for confirmation of the amount of Rs 107447 as being the balance due to the appellant company and as the appellant company failed to confirm it the admission of liability was conditional and therefore cannot operate as an acknowledgement
In this connection the decision in Maniram vs Rupchand1 was relied on and in particular the famous dictum of Mellish LJ in In re River Steamer Co vs Mitehell2 approvingly cited therein
The dictum was that an acknowledgement to take the case out of the statute of limitation must be either one from which an absolute promise to pay can be inferred or secondly an 1 L R 33 1
A 165
2 L R  at 828
636 unconditional promise to pay the specific debt or thirdly that there must be a conditional promise to pay the debt and evidence that the condition has been performed
The statement relied on in Maniram s case1 as an acknowledgement was by the respondent in a written statement filed by him in an earlier bate proceeding in which it was averred that the applicant chand Nanabhai the respondent had for the last five ye open and current accounts with the deceased the testator that the alleged indebtedness did not affect his right to apply for probate as one of the executors
It was held that the statement was sufficient to constitute an acknowledgement
An unconditional acknowledgement said their Lordships has always been held to imply a promise to pay because that is the natural inference if nothing is said to the contrary
It is what every honest man would mean to do
There can be no reason for giving a different meaning to an acknowledgement that there is a right to have the accounts settled and no quali fication of the natural inference that whoever is the creditor shall be paid when the condition is performed by the ascertainment of a balance in favour of the claimant
It is a case of the third proportion of Mellish LJ a conditional promise to pay and the condition performed
 We do not see how this decision can support the corporation since in the present case also there was an admission of a subsisting account on the finalisation of which the corporation was prepared to pay the balance found due at the foot thereof
The only dispute was what would such as balance Rs 107447 according to the corporation a larger sum according to the appellant company
The con firmation sought for in the letter exhibit 1 was not a condition to the admission as to the existence of a subsisting account an the liability to pay when accounts were finalised but to the specific amount which according to the corporation would the amount payable by it
according to its calculation
The decision in Raja Kavali Arunachella Row Bahadur vs Sri R Rangiah App Row Bahadur2 does not apply as the condition subject to which the settlement there was made was not performed and therefore the document was held to be one which could not be spelt out as an acknowledgement
In Rallapragada Ramamurthy vs Thammana Gopayva3 also the letter relied on as an acknowledgement stated that if certain arbitrators should decide that the defendant should pay any amount he would immediately pay but if the arbitrators failed to decide the plaintiff might sue and the defendant in that case would not plead limitation
The arbitrators failed to decide
It was held that the letter being conditional and the condition not having been 1 L R 33 1A 165
2 1906 1
L R 29 mad
519 3 Mad
637 performed did not operate as an acknowledgement
This deci sion too has no bearing on the facts of the present case
Unlike the cases relied on by Mr Sen the present case is one of an admission of a subsisting account and the jural relationship and the liability to pay whatever amount would be found due on finalisation of accounts
There is no condition subject to which the admission was made which remained unperformed
Ordinarily the functions of Subramanym as the secretary of the corporation would be ministerial and administrative
As a secretary only he would have no authority to bind the corporation by entering into contracts or other commitments on its behalf
As the chief accountant and holder of a power of attorney his functions in regard to the former would be to supervise over maintenance of proper accounts and in regard to the latter to look after and represent the corporation in litigation
None of these three positions held by him would by itself or cumulatively make him a person duly authorised to make an acknowledgement binding on the corporation
Also the fact that he carried on correspondence for the corporation would not make him a person authorised to make an acknowledgement binding on the corporation
see Uma Shankar vs Gobind Narain1
But such a description of the functions and duties perfomed by him would not be complete
If the correspondence together with the statements of accounts encolsed therewith is closely examined it becomes clear that he was authorised to scrutinise the claim made by the appellant company the various items for which the appellant company claimed credit and to reject some and what is important to allow the others
That he had such an authority is clear from the fact that in respect of such of the items which he allowed credit was given to the appellant company and necessary entries to the credit of the appellant company were posted in the account maintained by the corporation in its books of account
Thus in the reconciliation statement exhibit 43 sent along with the corporation s letter of September 17 1945
Rs 98101 were shown to be the balance due to the appellant company
The words used in that statement were balance as per ACI Ltd Books
These words clearly indicate that there was a subsisting account in the name of the appellant company in the books of the corporation and that at the foot of that account the sum of Rs 98101 was due to it
exhibit 44 another statement of account sent to the appellant company stated Rs 100304 7 7 as being the Balance as per ledger as on December 1 1945
As explained earlier the increase in the balance from Rs 98101 to Rs 100304 was due to certain items aggregating Rs 2203 4 6 having been passed by Subramanayam and entries 1 1
L R 46 All
6 38 having thereupon been posted in the ledger
Thereafter further items were passed by him totalling Rs 465 10 0 which when added raised the balance to Rs 160760 1 7 as at the end of December 1945
This was the balance as per our ledger stated in the statement sent along with the letter exhibit 1
It is impossible to think that in the course of finalising the accounts Subramanayam accorded his assent to various items claimed by the appellant company without having been authorised so to do
Nor is it possible to say that on his passing those items necessary entries were made in the books of accounts of the corporation without his having so authorised
Further he could not have sent to the appellant company statements of accounts showing the balance due to it as per the ledger unless he was authorised to finalise the accounts and arrive at the amount due and payable to the appellant company
In his evidence Subramanayam testified that Lakshmipat Singhania the director in charge of the corporation knew that he was dealing with Arora the representative of the appellant company in the matter of accounts between the parties
He also said that he was to find out the difference between the two and that as a result many points were resolved an he confirmed by letters to the appellant company those points which were so resolved
He then stated that the directors of the corporation were aware of the settlement of the said points by him but they neither ratified nor repudiated them
This was because as conceded by him be never placed those settled points before the directors for their ratification
He did not say that he had no authority to settle the differences or that he settled them subject to the approval of the directors
It is clear that he could not have settled the various points of difference between the parties and suitable entries in the books consequent upon such settlement could not have been posted unless he was authorised by the directors to finalise the accounts and make final adjustment with the appellant company
He tried of course to make out that he had no authority except as a secretary to carry on cor respondence for clarifying the position of the corporation
He even denied that entries were made in the books of the corporation after he had settled the said items
The denial is futile because the statements of account sent by him to the appellancompany from time to time clearly show that such entries were made
The effect of all this evidence is that besides his functions as the secretary cum chief accountant he was authorised to finalise the accounts between the parties to settle differences between them and to arrive at the final figure payable by the corporation
It was in pursuance of such authority that he dealt with Arora passed some of the items for which the 639 appellant company claimed credit had those entries posted in the books of the corporation sent statements of accounts from time to time and finally addressed the letter exhibit 1 stating therein that according to the books of the corporation the sum of Rs 107447 was the balance payable to the appellant company
He could not possibly have asked the appellant company to confirm that balance unless he had the authority on behalf of the corporation to acknowledge on its behalf that that was the balance payable by it
Therefore the conclusion is inescapable that he had the implied authority to make the acknowledgement and wrote the letter exhibit 1 with the intention of doing so
Accordingly the suits were not liable to be dismissed on the ground of their being barred by limitation and the High Court was in error in allowing the appeals by the corporation and dismissing the suits
The result is that the appeals are allowed and the judgment and order passed by the High Court are set aside
The case will have to be remanded to the High Court for deciding the rest of the questions arising in the suits and ascertaining the amounts due to the appellants the original plaintiffs as the High Court has not gone into those questions as it dismissed the suits on the point of limitation
In view of the very long period having elapsed due to prolonged adjournments of the appeals while they were pending before the High Court we earnestly hope that the High Court will dispose of the cases as expeditiously as possible
The corporation will pay to the appellants costs of these appeals such costs to be in one set of costs
GC Appeals allowed


Summary:
Prior to January 18 1944 six companies including Ms Lakshmiratan
Cotton Mills Co Ltd the appellant company and the Aluminium Corporation of India Ltd respondent corporation were jointly managed by two groups known as the Singhania and Gupta groups
As a result of disputes between the two groups there was a reference to arbitration
After January 18 1944 the date of the award the aforesaid six concerns were brought under the management and control of one or the other of the two groups The Corporation came under the control and management of the Singhania group
In cl 9 of the award it was said that the award did not cover the advances which either party or their separate firms may have made to all or any of them or their moneys which may be in deposit with them and that they would be payable and paid in their usual course
After the award the appellant Company sent a statement of account in respect of advances made to the respondent corporation and expenditure incurred on its behalf
The statement was objected to
on the ground that the appellant company had not properly maintained its accounts during the period of joint management
Efforts at reconciliation of accounts having faded the appellants filed two suits claiming Rs 35620796 and Rs 7259546 from the Corporation being suits Nos 63 and 65 of 1949
In suit No 63 of 1949 it was claimed that the suit was within time as after adjustment of several items in 1946 and 1947 a sum of Rs 296110 116 was found due to the appellant company and that in any event the suit was saved from being barred by limitation by a letter exhibit 1 dated April 16 1946 addressed by s the Secretarycum Chief Accountant of the Corporation thereby acknowledging the liability of the Corporation to pay the amount which would be found due and payable under the said accounts
Similar averments were made in Suit No 65 of 1949
The written statements filed on behalf of the Corporation inter alia pleaded that the said claim was barred by limitation that the said letter didnot amount to an acknowledgement within the meaning of section 19 of theLimitation Act 1908 which was then applicable to the suits and lastlythat even if the said letter did amount to an acknowledgement it wasnot binding on the Corporation
The trial court decreed the suits but theHigh Court dismissed them as being time barred
In appeals to this Courtthe questions that fell for consideration were i whether the letter in question amounted to an acknowledgmentii whether it was an acknowledgement by the corporation and if not iii whethe r the Secretary cum Chief Accountant had authority express or implied
to acknowledge liability on behalf of the Corporation so as to bind that corporation
Allowing the appeals HELD 1 a From the provisions of section 191 of the Limitation Act 1908 it is clear that the statement on which the plea of acknowledgement is founded must relate to a subsisting liability as the section requires 624 that it must be made before the expiration of the period prescribed by the Act
It need not however amount to a promise to pay for an acknowledgement does not create a new right of action but merely extends the period of limitation
The statement need not indicate the exact nature or the specific character of the liability
The words used in the statement in question however must relate to a present subsisting liability and indicate the existence of jural relationship between the partes such as for instance that of a debtor and a creditor and the intention to admit such a jural relationship Such an intention need not be in express terms and can be inferred by implication or the nature of the admission and the surrounding circumstances
Generally speaking a liberal construction of the statement in question should be given
That of course does not mean that where a statement is made without intending to admit the existence of a particular jural relationship such an intention should be fastened on the person making the statement by an involved or a far fetched reasoning
629 C E Khan Bchadur Shapoor Freedoom Mazda vs Durga Prosad Chamaria  Tilak Ram vs Nathu AIR  938 939 Green vs Humphreva 1884 26 Ch D 474 481 Tajpal Saraogi vs Lallanjee Jain CA No 76662 dt
8 2 1965 and Abdul Rahim Oosman  Co vs Ojamshee Prushottamdas  Co Cal
639 referred to
b From the correspondence between the parties and the surrounding circumstances it must follow that there was a subsisting account in the name of the appellannt company in the books of the Corporation in which interest on the balance shown therein from time to time was being credited and in which amounts in respect of items passed during the course of reconciliation were also duly credited
The statement in the letter exhibit 1 that after all the above adjustments the position will be as per statement attached that is to say that there was a balance of Rs 1074471311 due and payable to the appellant company must clearly amount to acknowledgement within the meaning of section 191
If the letter be looked at in the background of the controversy between the parties which controversy was limited to the question as to the correct ness of the amount claimed by the appellant company as also the correspondence which ensued in regard to it it would be impossible to say that the letter and the statement of account enclosed therewith were merely explanatory and did not amount to an admission of the jural reship of debtor and creditor and of the liability to pay the amount found due at the foot of the account on finalisation
635 D F The mere fact that letter called for confirmation of the amount of the balance mentioned therein and the fact that the appellant company failed to confirm it could not lead to a conclusion that the admission of liability was conditional and therefore could not operate as an acknow ledgement
The confirmation sought in the letter was not a condition to the admission as to the existence of a subsisting account and the liability to pay when accounts were finalised but to the specific amount which according to the corporation would be the amount payable by it according to its calculation There was no condition subject to which the admission was to be made which remained unperformed
635 G 636 F G 637 B Maniram vs Rupchand LR 33 IA 165 Raja Kayali Arunachella Row Bahadur vs Sri Rajah Rangiah Appa Row Bahadur Mad
519 and Ballapragada Ramamurthy vs Thammana Gopayya Mad 701 distinguished
625 LAXMIRATAN COTTON MILLS V ALUMINIUM CORP Shelat J In re River Steamer Co vs Mitchell  828 referred to
 ii The plea that the letter exhibit I should be regarded as an acknowledgement by the corporation itself was not included among the issues formulated before the courts below
It could not be allowed to be raised for the first time in this Court
628 B iii If the correspondence between the parties together with the statements of accounts enclosed therewith was closely examined it became clear that S was authorised to scrutinise the claim made by the appellant company the various items for which the appellant _company claimed credit and to reject the same and what is important to allow others
That he had such an authority was clear from the fact that in respect of such of the items which he allowed credit was given to the appellant and necessary entries to the credit of the appellant company were posted in the account maintained by the Corporation in its books of account
It was impossible to say that in the course of finalising the accounts S accorded his assent to various items claimed by the appellant company without having been authorised so to do
Nor was it possible to say that on his passing those items necessary entries were made in the books of accounts of the corporation without his having so authorised
Further he could not have sent to the appellant company statements of account showing the balance due to it as per the ledger unless he was authorised to finalise the accounts and arrive at the amount due and payable to the company
637 E F 638 B C Uma Shankar vs Govind Narain ILR 46 All 982 referred to