Nearly 6-Year Delay Proves Fatal; HC Says Expired Limitation Cannot Be Revived by RTI or Oral Assurances
Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court has dismissed an appeal by M/s Royal Enterprises seeking recovery of ₹5,96,850 from Nagar Parishad, Kishangarh, holding that the suit was filed nearly six years after the alleged cause of action and was clearly barred by limitation.
A Division Bench of Justice Arun Monga and Justice Ashutosh Kumar upheld the Commercial Court’s decision rejecting the recovery suit. The dispute arose from a garbage-cleaning contract under which the firm alleged that ₹3 lakh each was withheld from its February, March and April 2015 bills, totalling ₹9 lakh.
The firm filed the recovery suit only on March 5, 2021. The High Court held that the applicable limitation period was three years, which had expired by 2018 at the latest.
Royal Enterprises argued that ₹5,02,075 credited to its account in June 2017 amounted to part-payment and restarted limitation. The Court rejected the contention, finding no document showing that the amount was acknowledged as payment towards the firm’s dues.
The Court further held that RTI applications, departmental proceedings, representations or alleged oral assurances cannot revive an already expired limitation period unless the statutory requirements for extension are satisfied.
Court held that even if the plaintiff’s pleadings and evidence were accepted in their entirety, the claim was clearly time-barred. The appeal was accordingly dismissed, with no order as to costs.