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10. The learned Special Court thus, while accepting the fact of conversion of the bonds in question, dismissed the suit as against Hiten P. Dalal and CMF as the said amendment was barred by limitation. Hence the present appeals are filed by the appellants urging various grounds.

11. We have heard Mr. Ram Jethmalani, the learned senior counsel on behalf of the appellant and Mr. Rohit Kapadia and Mr. Pradeep Sancheti, the learned senior counsel on behalf of the respondents. On the basis of the factual circumstance and evidence on record produced before the Special Court and also in light of the rival factual and legal contentions raised by the learned senior counsel for both the parties, we have broadly framed the issues which would require our consideration. Since the only issue in contention before us is that of limitation, we shall restrict our attention to that only. The main legal questions which arise in this case are-

(a) a) For wrongfully taking to the possession or detaining any specific of the property movable property lost, or first learns in acquired by theft, or whose possession dishonest it is.

    misappropriation,      or
    conversion
                                    (emphasis laid by this Court)

    13.   Mr.   Ram Jethmalani,     the     learned    senior    counsel

    appearing    on   behalf   of   the     appellant,   contended      that

“The old English statute of Limitation had been content to prescribe the period by putting as the limits so many years after the cause of action.

AIR 1926 Cal 65 AIR 1928 Cal 646 The Indian legislature endeavor in detail by the Limitation Act to state in the third column of the Schedule, the event which is to be taken as completing a cause of action that is the date from the time begins to run. The language of this column of the schedule should in general, if not indeed always, be so interpreted as to carry out the true intention of the legislature, that is to say, to date the cause of action from the date on which the remedy is available to the party.” Thus, the contention of the learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant, Mr. Ram Jethmalani is essentially that Column 3 of Article 91(a) must be read with Column 1. It leads to the indisputable contention that knowledge must be of the identity of a specific person in whose possession the bonds are and that he acquired the possession of the said bonds under an arrangement, which in law would constitute wrongful conversion.

“The article says that a suit for recovery of specific moveable property acquired by conversion or for compensation for wrongful taking or detaining of the suit property should be filed within three years from the date when the person having the right to the possession of the property first learns in whose possession it is. The question is, on whom the burden to prove the said knowledge lies? The answer will be clear if the article is read as follows: A person having the right to the possession of a property wrongfully taken from him by another can file a suit to recover the said specific moveable property or for compensation therefore within three years from the date when he first learns in whose possession it is. Obviously where a person has a right to sue within three years from the date of his coming to know of a certain fact, it AIR 1961 SC 1474 is for him to prove that he had the knowledge of the said fact on a particular date, for the said fact would be within his peculiar knowledge.” (emphasis laid by this Court) The provision of Article 91 (a) of the Limitation Act thus demands two things. First is knowledge on the part of the plaintiff, and second, that the said fact be within his peculiar knowledge. We agree with the contention advanced by Mr. Ram Jethmalani, the learned senior counsel on behalf of the appellant, that the term “first learns” places a burden of knowledge which is rather specific in nature. Thus, the knowledge must be of the identity of a specific person in whose possession the bonds are and that he acquired the possession of the said bonds under an arrangement, which in law would constitute wrongful conversion. The knowledge of a specific person against whom the suit can be instituted is what is crucial here. A mere suspicion or a whisper of knowledge is not enough for the period of limitation to start running. Point number 1 is thus, answered accordingly.