A borrowed a sum of money from B. The last date for filing the suit fell on Sunday. On Monday, the next day A gives a written acknowledgement to B. Advise B whether he should file the suit immediately or he can do so after sometime.

Governing rules

Section 4 of the Limitation Act says that when the prescribed period expires on a day when the court is closed, the suit may be filed on the day the court reopens. The section is only a saving provision; it does not create a fresh period of limitation. Section 18, on the other hand, extends limitation only if there is a written and signed acknowledgement made before the expiry of the limitation period.

The commentary makes the position explicit: if limitation expires on Sunday or another holiday, the suit can be filed on the next day, and Section 4 does not extend the period further. It also states that an acknowledgement after the debt has become barred cannot save limitation; the acknowledgement must be within the subsisting period.

Applying the facts

Here, the last date fell on Sunday, so B gets the benefit of Section 4 and may file the suit on Monday, the first working day. But the written acknowledgement is given on Monday, that is, after limitation has already expired, even though only by operation of Section 4 the time for filing is carried to the next day. Since Section 18 requires acknowledgement before expiry of the prescribed period, the Monday acknowledgement will not give B a fresh limitation period.

So B should file immediately on Monday, and he cannot safely postpone the suit in the hope of relying on that acknowledgement. If he delays further, he risks losing the benefit of Section 4 altogether.

Illustration

Suppose a loan suit becomes time-barred on Sunday. The plaintiff may file on Monday because the court was closed on Sunday. But if the debtor writes and signs an acknowledgement only on Monday, that document cannot revive the claim because the acknowledgement came after limitation had already run out.

By contrast, if the debtor had signed the acknowledgement on Saturday, before expiry, then Section 18 would give B a fresh period from the date of that acknowledgement.

Case law

In Maqbul Ahmad v. Onkar Pratap Narain Singh, the Privy Council explained the limited role of Section 4: it allows filing on the reopening day when the court is closed on the last day, but it does not enlarge limitation in any other sense. In Shapoor Freedom Mazda v. Durga Prasad Chamaria, the Supreme Court held that an acknowledgement must relate to a subsisting liability and must be made within time. In Lakshmiratan Cotton Mills Co. Ltd. v. Aluminium Corporation of India Ltd., the Court reaffirmed that an acknowledgement under Section 18 gives a fresh starting point only when made before the debt is barred.

Conclusion

B should file the suit immediately on Monday. He cannot wait and later rely on the Monday acknowledgement, because Section 18 does not operate after the debt has already become barred, and Section 4 only saves the right to file on the reopening day; it does not create a new limitation period.