Mutual open and current bank account treated as within time, with winding up not defeating limitation under special exclusion provision.

A banking account operated first as a current deposit account and later under an agreed overdraft facility was treated as a mutual, open and current account because it involved reciprocal debits and credits on both sides, rather than a one-sided liability. That character was relevant for limitation under Article 85 of the Limitation Act. The subsequent winding up of the bank did not alter the account's nature for limitation purposes, since the liquidator succeeded to the bank's right to sue on the account. Section 45F of the Banking Companies Act, 1949 was applied to exclude the specified period from computation, so the liquidator's suit was within time.

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Issues: Whether the account between the bank and its customer was a mutual, open and current account within Article 85 of the Limitation Act, and whether the liquidator's suit was within time by reason of Section 45F of the Banking Companies Act, 1949.

Analysis: The account began as a current deposit account and later operated with an agreed overdraft facility, creating reciprocal obligations between the parties. Such dealings satisfied the test of a mutual, open and current account, since the account involved independent transactions on both sides and was not merely one-sided. The subsequent winding up of the bank did not change the character of the account for limitation purposes, because the relevant question was the nature of the account while it was alive and the liquidator succeeded to the bank's right to sue on that account. Section 45F was held applicable to the suit despite the winding up order having been made before the section was introduced, as the provision was treated as governing limitation in pending liquidation administration and excluding the specified period from computation.

Conclusion: The account was a mutual, open and current account, Article 85 applied, and Section 45F operated to save limitation; the suit was therefore within time.

Final Conclusion: The limitation defence failed, and the appeal was dismissed with costs.

Ratio Decidendi: A banking account with reciprocal debit and credit dealings under an overdraft arrangement is a mutual, open and current account, and a later winding up does not destroy that character for limitation purposes; the liquidator may sue on the account, with limitation computed under the applicable special exclusion provision.

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