Raman Raheja vs. Narendera Prasad Poddar
Background
The respondent had obtained a money decree (Rs. 10,65,965 with 9% interest) against the petitioner and a company in a 2018 suit for unpaid rent, based on dishonoured cheques signed by the petitioner personally. When the respondent sought to execute the decree, the petitioner objected, arguing he was only a company officer, the suit was time-barred, and the decree was obtained by fraud. The Executing Court rejected these objections.
Decision Breakdown
The High Court held that the legal shield for an officer sued "on behalf of" a society didn't apply, since the petitioner was sued and decreed in his personal capacity, having personally signed the cheques. The suit was within the three-year limitation period, computed from when the cheques bounced. It also rejected the fraud argument for lack of evidence, and reaffirmed that an Executing Court's power is narrow, limited to jurisdictional nullity, not re-examining the merits of an already-final decree. The petition was dismissed.
Lesson Learnt
If you sign personal cheques or are individually named in a decree, you cannot later claim protection meant for company or society officers sued only in a representative capacity, and once a decree becomes final, you generally cannot reopen its merits at the execution stage.