Francis Raymond vs. Sathasiwam Vincendrajan – SC CHC APPEAL 37/2006-2024

In the case between Francis Raymond, Proprietor of El Shaddai Enterprises (Plaintiff/Appellant), and Sathasiwam Vincendrajan and Sumathi Vincendrajan (Defendant/Respondents), the court addressed the issue of whether the Plaintiff’s cause of action regarding unpaid bills of exchange was barred by prescription under the Prescription Ordinance. It was held that the unpaid bills, though arising from an oral agreement, functioned as independent written contracts, thereby falling within a six-year prescriptive period and not barred by a shorter limitation. The principle reaffirmed is that, even where contracts originate from oral terms, the existence and acceptance of bills of exchange constitute written contracts for prescription purposes. The Commercial High Court’s decision was set aside, the