TMI Blog1999 (4) TMI 609X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... subject matter of appeal arising from S.L.P. (C) No.12051 of 1988. The above decisions of the Division Bench, however, have been overruled by a Full Bench of the Kerala High Court by its judgment dated 10.4.1996 which is the judgment under appeal in C.A.Nos.12393 and 12394 of 1996. All these appeals, have, therefore, been heard together. The Kerala Revenue Recovery Act, 1968 is an Act to consolidate and amend the laws relating to recovery of arrears of public revenue in the State of Kerala. Under Section 5 of the Kerala Revenue Recovery Act of 1968, whenever public revenue due on land is in arrear, such arrear, together with interest, if any, and cost of the process may be recovered by one or more of the modes set out in that section. One of the modes so prescribed is attachment and sale of the defaulters' movable or immovable property. Under Section 68 of the said Act, all sums due to the Government on account of quit rent or revenue other than public revenue dues on land, as also all sums declared by any other law for the time being in force to be recoverable as arrear of public revenue due on land or land revenue can be recovered under the provisions of the said Act ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ic interest. Explaining analogous provisions of the U.P. Public Moneys (Recovery of Dues) Act, 1965, this Court in The Director of Industries, U.P. and Ors. v. Deep Chand Agarwal (AIR 1980 SC 801) held that the said Act is passed with the object of providing a speedier remedy to the State Government to realise the loans advanced by it or by the Uttar Pradesh Financial Corporation. Explaining the need for speedy recovery, it says that the State Government while advancing loans does not act as an ordinary banker with a view to earning interest. Ordinarily it advances loans in order to assist the people financially in establishing an industry in the State or for the development of agriculture, animal husbandry or for such other purposes which would advance the economic well-being of the people. Moneys so advanced have to be recovered expeditiously so that fresh advances may be made for the same purpose. It is with the object of avoiding the usual delay involved in the disposal of suits in civil courts and providing for an expeditious remedy that the U.P. Act had been enacted. It was on this ground that this Court upheld the classification of loans which are covered by the said U.P. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tured and enforceable, or that it matured at sometime in the past and yet remains unsatisfied, or that it is fixed and certain but the day appointed for its payment has not yet arrived. But commonly and in the absence of any qualifying expressions, the word due is restricted to the first of these meanings, the second being expressed by the term overdue and the third by the word payable . There is no reference in these definitions to a time-barred debt. In every case the exact meaning of the word due will depend upon the context in which that word appears. In the case of Hansraj Gupta Ors. v. Dehra Dun- Mussoorie Electric Tramway Co. Ltd. (AIR 1933 PC 63) the Privy Council was required to interpret the words money due under Section 186 of the Companies Act, 1913. Section 186 dealt with the recovery of any money due to the Company from a contributory. Interpreting the words money due , the Privy Council said that the phrase would only refer to those claims which were not time-barred. It noted that the section is concerned only with moneys due from a contributory. A debtor who is not a contributory is not affected by it. Moneys due from him can be recovered only by a s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... under protest can file a suit for refund of the amount wrongly recovered. In law he would be entitled to submit in the suit that the claim against which the recovery has been made is time-barred. Hence no amount should have been recovered from him. When the right to file a suit under Section 70(3) is expressly preserved, there is a necessary implication that the shield of limitation available to a debtor in a suit is also preserved. He cannot, therefore, be deprived of this right simply by making a recovery under the said Act unless there is anything in the Act which expressly brings about such a result. Provisions of the said Act, however, indicate to the contrary. Moreover, such a wide interpretation of amount due which destroys an important defence available to a debtor in a suit against him by the creditor, may attract Article 14 against the Act. It would be ironic if an Act for speedy recovery is held as enabling a creditor who has delayed recovery beyond the period of limitation to recover such delayed claims. In the case of New Delhi Municipal Committee v. Kalu Ram and Anr. (1976 (3) SCC 407) relying on the Privy Council decision in Hansraj Gupta v. Dehra Dun-Mussoorie ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to the Kerala Revenue Recovery Act. There is no indication in any of the sections of the said Act that the entire amount due whether time-barred or not, can be recovered by resorting to the procedure under the Kerala Revenue Recovery Act. In our view if such a wide interpretation is put on the words amount due under the Kerala Revenue Recovery Act, there is every likelihood of the provisions of Article 14 being attracted. This Court in the case The Director of Industries, U.P. and Ors. v. Deep Chand Agarwal (Supra) justified the special procedure for recovery of certain debts under the U.P. Public Moneys (Recovery of Dues) Act, 1965 on the ground that the amounts which were advanced by the State. or by the financial institutions were for the economic betterment of the people of that State. Speedy recovery of these amounts was necessary so that these amounts could be re-utilised for the same public purpose. It is doubtful if this public purpose would extend to granting exemption to these claims from the statute of limitation. The law of limitation itself rests on the foundations of public interest. The courts have expressed at least three reasons for supporting the existence o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... h the necessity of filing a suit by a creditor is avoided, the extent of the claim which is legally recoverable is not thereby enlarged. Under Section 70(2) of the Kerala Revenue Recovery Act the right of a debtor to file a suit for refund is expressly preserved. Instead of the bank or the financial institution filing a suit which is defended by the debtor, the creditor first recovers and then defends his recovery in a suit filed by the debtor. The rights of the parties are not thereby enlarged. The process of recovery is different. An Act must expressly provide for such enlargement of claims which are legally recoverable, before it can be interpreted as extending to the recovery of those amounts which have ceased to be legally recoverable on the date when recovery proceedings are undertaken. Under the Kerala Revenue Recovery Act such process of recovery would start with a written requisition issued in the prescribed form by the creditor to the collector of the District as prescribed under Section 69(2) of the said Act. Therefore, all claims which are legally recoverable and are not time-barred on that date can be recovered under the Kerala Revenue Recovery Act. In view of the i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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