Acknowledgement Of Debt

'Acknowledgement' generally means acceptance or admission of something that exists. Section 18 of the Limitation Act, 1963¹ uses the term 'acknowledgement' to mean an admission of an existing liability in lieu of which the period of limitation is extended. A perusal through section 18 of the Limitation Act indicates certain conditions to be fulfilled in order to emphasize acknowledgement. They are:

1. That the acknowledgement of liability must be in writing.
2. That the acknowledgement of liability must be made before expiry of limitation period for filing the suit. If limitation has already expired, it would not revive under section 18 of the Limitation Act².
3. That the acknowledgement of liability must be unqualified³ and must be in unambiguous, clear terms⁴.