In a recent decision on February 25, 2026, the Madras High Court, led by Justice M. Nirmal Kumar, rejected an appeal in a loan disagreement between K. Sivakumar and V. Shanmugasundram. Here's a simple explanation of the case and the court's decision.
K. Sivakumar, through his representative R. Haneesh, filed a complaint under a law dealing with bounced checks. The complaint was against V. Shanmugasundram, who supposedly owed ₹13,99,425, including interest, because a check he wrote bounced.
Sivakumar said that Shanmugasundram borrowed money starting from June 16, 2008, adding up to ₹14,00,000. Some of this money was paid back, but not all of it. A check Shanmugasundram wrote on January 17, 2013, bounced because there wasn't enough money in the account.
"The check bounced and was returned with the reason 'Funds Insufficient' by a bank memo dated 28.01.2013."
At first, the Trial Court found Shanmugasundram guilty, but later, another judge in Chennai changed this decision on October 10, 2019. Sivakumar then took the case to the High Court.
Sivakumar's Side: His lawyer argued that the check was valid and the debt wasn't too old to be collected, pointing to some repayments as proof.
Shanmugasundram's Side: He said the check was a blank one from 2008, used wrongly by Sivakumar. He also said the debt was too old to be collected, as the last dealing was in 2009.
The court agreed that the debt was too old to be collected. The check from 2013 was related to deals from 2008 and 2009, which were more than three years old, the limit for collecting debts.
"Without any current documents or proof, the check is for a debt that's too old to collect."
Justice M. Nirmal Kumar agreed with the earlier court's decision, rejecting Sivakumar's appeal. The court pointed out that there was no proof of any deals after 2008 and that the check was used wrongly.
This case shows how important it is to take legal action quickly and keep proper records in money disputes. The decision makes it clear that debts too old to collect can't be enforced, even if there's a signed check.
