LexK.P. KHEMKA & ANR. versus HARYANA STATE INDUSTRIAL AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LIMITED & ORS.
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* Author [2024] 6 S.C.R. 234 : 2024 INSC 396 K.P. Khemka & Anr. v. Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited & Ors. (Civil Appeal No. 6144 of 2024) 08 May 2024 [Surya Kant and K.V. Viswanathan,* JJ.] Issue for Consideration By the impugned judgment, the High Court dismissed the writ petitions and rejected the contention of the appellants herein that if a debt is time-barred under the Limitation Act, 1963, the same cannot be recovered by resorting to the Haryana Public Moneys (Recovery of Dues) Act, 1979 read with the State Financial Corporation Act, 1951. Headnotes Haryana Public Moneys (Recovery of Dues) Act, 1979 – State Financial Corporation Act, 1951 – Limitation Act, 1963 – The appellants herein had relied upon the judgment of a three- Judge Bench of the Supreme Court in State of Kerala and Others vs. V.R. Kalliyanikutty & Anr. to contend that a time- barred debt under the Limitation Act cannot be recovered under the Recovery of Dues Act – Respondent contended that the impugned order of the High Court was perfectly justified in holding that the decision of this Court in V.R. Kalliyanikutty has not considered the holding in Bombay Dyeing and Tilokchand Motichand: Held: The Division Bench in the impugned order do not directly address the holding in V.R. Kalliyanikutty that the Kerala Revenue Recovery Act did not create any additional right to recover and enforce the outstanding amounts due – The real question that arises is do the State Financial Corporations Act, 1951 and the Recovery of Dues Act create a distinct right and provided an alternative mechanism of enforcement to recover the amount due, even if the amounts due were time barred – While the process of filing a civil suit may be barred because of the statute of limitation, the power to recover vested through Section 32-G [2024] 6 S.C.R. 235 K.P. Khemka & Anr. v. Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited & Ors. of the State Financial Corporations Act read with Section 2(c) and Section 3 of the Recovery of Dues Act is a distinct power which continues notwithstanding that another mode of recovery through a civil suit is barred – Understood in that sense, it does appear that there is an additional right to enforce the claims of the financial corporations notwithstanding the bar of limitation – Also, in a three-judge Bench decision of the Supreme Court in K.C. Ninan v. Kerala State Electricity Board, 2023 INSC 560, the Court noticed the decision in V.R. Kalliyanikutty and concluded that statute of limitation only barred a remedy, while the right to recover the loan through ‘any other suitable manner provided’ remains untouched – For a comprehensive consideration and an authoritative pronouncement after taking into account all aspects, the matter needs to be placed before the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India to constitute an appropriate three-judge Bench. [Paras 13, 14, 18, 31, 32] Case Law Cited State of Kerala and Others v. V.R. Kalliyanikutty & Anr. [1999] 2 SCR 372 : (1999) 3 SCC 657; Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing Company Limited v. The State of Bombay and Ors. [1958] 1 SCR 1122; Tilokchand and Motichand and Others v. H.B. Munshi and Another [1969] 2 SCR 824 : (1969) 1 SCC 110; Khadi Gram Udyog Trust v. Ram Chandraji Virajman Mandir, Sarasiya Ghat, Kanpur [1978] 2 SCR 249 : (1978) 1 SCC 44; Director of Industries, U.P. v. Deep Chand Agarwal [1980] 2 SCR 1015 : (1980) 2 SCC 332; New Delhi Municipal Committee v. Kalu Ram [1976] Supp. 1 SCR 87 : (1976) 3 SCC 407; K.C. Ninan v. Kerala State Electricity Board [2023] 9 SCR 637 : 2023 INSC 560 – referred to. Hansraj Gupta v. Dehra Dun-Mussorie Electric Tramway Co. Ltd., AIR 1933 PC 63 – referred to. Sri Narain v. Liquidator, Union Bank of India, ILR 4 Lah. 109 – referred to. Books and Periodicals Cited Salmond on Jurisprudence, 12th Edition, on concepts of “Right” and “Power” [Page 224, 229 & 230] 236 [2024] 6 S.C.R. Digital Supreme Court Reports List of Acts Haryana Public Moneys (Recovery of Dues) Act, 1979; State Financial Corporation Act, 1951; Limitation Act, 1963. List of Keywords Debt; Time-barred debt; Remedy; Time-barred debt under Limitation Act, 1963; Recovery of dues under Haryana Public Moneys (Recovery of Dues) Act, 1979; Limitation Act bars remedy; Limitation Act does not extinguish debt; Recovery of loan; Right to recover; Recovery proceedings; Alternative mechanis
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