Limitation for official liquidator claims follows the underlying cause of action, with section 458A only excluding time in computation.

An official liquidator's application to recover a company debt is not governed uniformly by Article 137 of the Limitation Act merely because it is brought under section 446(2) of the Companies Act. The applicable limitation article depends on the nature of the underlying claim, and if the proceeding is in substance a suit, the article governing that suit applies. Section 458A operates only as a computation exclusion and does not create a fresh limitation period or revive a claim already time-barred when winding up commenced. The claim was therefore barred by limitation.

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Issues: Whether an application by the official liquidator under section 446(2) of the Companies Act, 1956 for recovery of a company debt was governed by article 137 of the Limitation Act, 1963 with limitation running from the date of the winding-up order, or by the article applicable to the nature of the underlying claim with the benefit of exclusion under section 458A of the Companies Act, 1956.

Analysis: The right enforced by the official liquidator was held to be the existing right of the company in liquidation and not a fresh right arising on the winding-up order. Section 458A is only a computation provision and does not prescribe a separate period of limitation. The applicable article under the Limitation Act depends on the nature of the claim itself, and if the proceeding is in substance a suit, the limitation article governing such a suit applies. Article 137 is not the universal article for every application by the official liquidator, and limitation cannot be reckoned solely from the winding-up order so as to revive a claim already time-barred when winding up commenced.

Conclusion: The application was barred by limitation; article 137 did not govern it merely because it was presented by the official liquidator, and the appeal succeeded.

Final Conclusion: The legal position affirmed was that limitation for claims by the official liquidator must be determined by the nature of the underlying claim and the applicable Limitation Act article, with section 458A operating only as an exclusion for computation, not as a source of a fresh limitation period.

Ratio Decidendi: A claim pursued by the official liquidator is subject to the same limitation principle as the company's original enforceable claim, and section 446(2) of the Companies Act, 1956 does not create a new right or a uniform article of limitation; the relevant Limitation Act article is determined by the nature of the claim, while section 458A merely excludes specified periods in computation.

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