Madras HC Upholds Refusal To Add Rs 5 Lakh Recovery Claim, Sought Nearly Six Years After Alleged Advance, As Time-Barred

The plaintiff filed a suit seeking a declaration that a gift settlement deed dated 3 May 2021 was null and void, and an injunction against the second defendant creating encumbrances over the suit property.

The plaint also alleged that the plaintiff had advanced Rs. 5,00,000 to the defendants on 24 October 2020, but sought no repayment relief.

In August 2026, the plaintiff applied to amend the plaint to add a claim for repayment with interest, explaining that the omission resulted from an oversight and that his former counsel had since died.

The trial court dismissed the application, finding the proposed money claim time-barred. The plaintiff challenged that order under Article 227 of the Constitution.

The Court referred to the Limitation Act, 1963, and stated that Article 34 prescribes a three-year limitation period for claims based on a bill of exchange or promissory note payable at a fixed time after sight or demand.

It treated the proposed claim as subject to a three-year period and reasoned that allowing the amendment would introduce a time-barred claim and prejudice the defendants.

The judgment cited no precedent or specific provision governing amendment of pleadings.

Although it described Article 34 as concerning bills of exchange and promissory notes, it did not explain how that Article applied to the alleged advance in this case.

The Court noted that the alleged advance was made on 24 October 2020, while the plaintiff sought to add the repayment prayer only on 10 August 2026.

It accepted the trial court’s conclusion that the three-year limitation period had expired on 23 October 2023 and considered that permitting the amendment would prejudice the defendants by introducing a time-barred claim.

The Court therefore found no basis to interfere with the trial court’s refusal, without separately addressing the plaintiff’s explanation for the delay or identifying the applicable limitation provision for the alleged advance.