The judgment appealed against was delivered on 3rd November and an application for copies of judgment and decree was made on the same date. Copies were ready on 12th December and the appeal was presented 12th on January, i.e, the 70th day.
But the appellants were entitled to deduct 27 days in November and 12 days in December which were occupied in obtaining a copy of the decree. Deducting these 39 days the appeal was presented on the 31st day, but 11th January was a Sunday and therefore under Sect. 4, Limitation Act, the appeal might be presented on the next working day, and was in time if so presented.
It is argued for the 3rd respondent that the appellants were not entitled to deduct the 14th November seeing that copy stamps for the copy of the decree were called for on November 13th and were not furnished till the 15th.
But that day (14th November) has to be excluded under Sect. 12 (3) of the Limitation Act as one of the days requisite for obtaining a copy of the judgment; and it has been held in Raman Chetti v. Kadirvalu(1) and Silamban Chetty v. Ramanadhan Chetty(2), that a prty is entitled to exclude both these periods so long as they are not counted twice over. It is suggested that those decisions are wrong and that the question should be referred to a Full Bench, but we see no reason to decline to follow them and we think that they correctly interpret the intention of the legislature in enacting Sect. 12 Limitation Act, which was that parties should have the benefit of excluding both of these periods under Cls. 2 and 3 in computing the period of limitation prescribed for an appeal.
This appeal is allowed with costs. The District Judge will be directed to admit the appeal and dispose of it on its merits.
K. V. S.Appeal allowed.