Written Statement Filed In Commercial Suit During COVID Limitation Extension Period Cannot Be Rejected For Delay : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court considered whether a written statement filed belatedly in a commercial suit could be rejected where the delay fell wholly within the COVID-19 limitation suspension ordered by the Court. The Bench analysed the timeline of service and the statutory 120-day period, applying the Court’s blanket suspension of limitation between March 15, 2020 and February 28, 2022 (In Re: Cognizance for Extension of Limitation). Observing that the relevant statutory period commenced and ended during the suspension, the Court held that the written statement filed on January 7, 2022 could not be treated as time-barred. The judgment emphasised procedural fairness: denying the written statement and thereby extinguishing the defendant’s right to cross-examine would have effectively foreclosed defence on merits. The Court recalled precedents reaffirming that right to cross-examine survives formal non-filing of a written statement. Setting aside the concurrent High Court and trial court orders, the Supreme Court allowed the appeal and remanded for recording the written statement and for allowing the defendant to contest the suit on merits, underlining that technical rejection during the pandemic period would be unjust and contrary to the relief envisaged by the limitation suspension.