JUDGMENT Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan, J. 1. These claims are filed by the official liquidator under S.446 of the Companies Act, 1956, hereinafter referred to as the 'Act'. The winding up order was on 19/10/2001. After elaborately considering the question whether a claim on behalf of the company in question would be barred by limitation, if filed after 19/10/2005, applying the exclusion of period in terms of S.458A, this Court, in CC No. 78 of 2007, held, that such a claim is barred by limitation. 2. Later, on a contest on that point, a few subsequent cases, CC No. 108 of 2007 and connected matters were rejected on the ground of limitation, following the aforesaid decision in CC No. 78 of 2007. 3. Having thus found that the claims filed on behalf of the company in question on the basis of a plea that the period to be excluded from the date of winding up order runs beyond 19/10/2005, are unsustainable and such claims are barred by limitation, S.3 of the Limitation Act, 1963 obliges the Court to dismiss such claims even if the respondents do not plead limitation. That is imperative and casts a duty upon the Court to dismiss an application barred by time, although limitation has not been set up as defence. This principle applies in toto to claims filed under S.446 of the Act also because they are nothing but claims that would have, but for the winding up order, gone to a Civil Court as a suit. 4. Bar of limitation only results in the bar of remedy and not in the extinguishment of the right and claim. Therefore, the dismissal of such claim petitions on the ground of limitation would not stand in the way of the official liquidator setting off any amount which may be due to any or all among the respondents under any other account towards the amounts due to the company, as covered by the claim petitions, which are dismissed on the ground of limitation. 5. In the result, these claim petitions are dismissed subject to the above clarification regarding set off. However, it is further directed that any payment made by any of the respondents after the institution of these company claims shall not be refunded.