Limitation - 16 Legal Rules For Calculating Limitation Under Limitation Act, 1963
By Dr Neel Mani Tripathi
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1. Bar of Limitation & Definition of ‘Period of Limitation’
Relevant Sections: Sections 2(j) & 3
Meaning:
Section 2(j) defines “period of limitation” as the period prescribed in the Schedule to the Limitation Act for any suit, appeal, or application.
Section 3 mandates that if a suit, appeal, or application is filed after the expiration of the period of limitation, it shall be dismissed (even if limitation has not been set up as a defense).
Procedure: Always check the schedule to find the applicable limitation period (e.g., three years for a simple money suit from the date the right to sue accrues).
Example:
A suit for recovery of money from a loan typically has a three-year limitation. If the due date was January 1, 2023, the limitation ends January 1, 2026 (subject to other rules below).
Exceptions:
If the plaintiff can show circumstances that extend or suspend the period (e.g., acknowledgment of debt, fraud), the limitation may be altered.
2. Commencement of Limitation: When Time Begins to Run
Relevant Section: Section 9 (read together with the Schedule)
Meaning: Once the time for limitation starts to run—i.e., once the cause of action or right to sue accrues—it continues to run uninterrupted unless there is a legal provision that stops or suspends it.
Procedure: Identify the exact date when the cause of action arises (for a contract, it is typically the date of breach or when the debt becomes due).
Example:
If goods are sold on credit and payment is due after 30 days, the date of breach (and thus the start of the limitation) usually begins the day after the due date if payment is not made.
Exception:
If there is an acknowledgment of liability, part-payment, fraud, or other specified events, a fresh period of limitation could commence (discussed below).
3. Last Day of Limitation Falling on a Court Holiday
Relevant Section: Section 4
Meaning: If the prescribed limitation period expires on a day when the Court is closed (e.g., Sunday, public holiday, or a day on which the court is otherwise not functioning), the proceeding may be instituted on the next day the Court reopens.
Procedure: Check the court calendar. If the final day is a holiday, file the case (or appeal/application) on the immediate next working day.
Example:
If the limitation ends on October 2 (a national holiday), the suit can be filed on October 3 (provided that day is a working day).
No major exceptions - this rule is straightforward.
4. Exclusion of the Day on which the Period Begins
Relevant Sub-Section: Section 12(1)
Meaning: In computing the starting point of limitation, the day on which the cause of action arises (or the day of the event from which time is to be reckoned) is excluded.
Procedure: If a right to sue accrues on January 1, day one of limitation is January 2.
Example:
If a cause of action arises on January 1, and the limitation period is three years, then the counting starts from January 2.
Exception: This is generally a fixed principle; no specific exceptions. However, keep in mind that other sections may alter the total period (e.g., an acknowledgment resets the start date).
5. Exclusion of Time for Obtaining Copies (in Appeals & Applications)
Relevant Sub-Sections: Section 12(2), (3), (4)
Meaning:
When computing the limitation period for an appeal or an application (especially for revision or review), the time taken by the appellant/applicant to obtain a certified copy of the judgment/decree/order is excluded.
Procedure:
1. After the decree or order is passed, the party applies for a certified copy.
2. The period from the date of application for the certified copy until the copy is ready for delivery is excluded.
Example:
A final order is passed on January 1, and the limitation for appeal is 30 days.
The party applies for a certified copy on January 3 and receives it on January 10.
These 8 days (Jan 3 to Jan 10) are excluded, effectively extending the last date for filing the appeal.
Exception: If there is any delay in applying for the copy that is not bona fide, the court may disallow that delay. The applicant must show diligence.
6. Exclusion of Time Spent in Prosecuting Another Civil Proceeding in Good Faith
Relevant Section: Section 14
Meaning: If a plaintiff has been prosecuting another civil proceeding, in good faith, in a court that lacks jurisdiction or suffers from a similar defect, the period spent in that proceeding is excluded from the limitation.
Procedure:
Show that the earlier proceeding was related to the same cause of action.
Show that the plaintiff prosecuted it in good faith (no malafide or deliberate oversight).
Show that it ultimately failed solely due to want of jurisdiction or a similar defect (not on merits).
Example:
A plaintiff files a suit in Court A, believing it has jurisdiction. After a year, Court A returns the plaint for lack of jurisdiction. The plaintiff then files in the proper court (Court B).
The one-year period spent in Court A is excluded from the limitation calculation.
Exception: Bad faith or negligence will defeat the claim to exclusion under Section 14.
7. Exclusion of Time in Other Specific Cases (e.g., Injunctions, Notices)
Relevant Section: Section 15
Meaning: The Limitation Act provides for exclusion of certain periods—for instance, the time during which an injunction or stay order operates, or when statutory or contractual notice must be given before suing.
Procedure:
Determine if any stay/injunction was in force preventing the filing.
Determine if a notice was mandatory (e.g., notice to a government authority under Section 80 of the Civil Procedure Code).
Exclude that period from the limitation.
Example:
If a mandatory two-month notice to the government is required before filing a suit, those two months do not count towards the limitation.
Exception:
Must strictly satisfy that the delay is caused by a legally recognized bar (injunction, stay, or notice requirement). Non -statutory or voluntary delays do not get excluded.
8. Extension of Limitation for Appeals and Applications (Sufficient Cause)
Relevant Section: Section 5
Meaning: The court may condone a delay for appeals or certain applications if the appellant/applicant demonstrates sufficient cause for not filing within the prescribed period.
Procedure:
1. File a formal application for condonation of delay along with the appeal or application.
2. Show adequate reasons (e.g., serious illness, late availability of judgment copy, etc.).
Example:
An appeal is due on January 31. The party falls severely ill and files it on February 15. The court may condone the 15-day delay if it is satisfied with the medical evidence.
Exceptions:
Generally not applicable to suits—Section 5 is only for appeals or certain applications, unless specifically provided by another statute.
The court’s discretion is key; insufficient reasons will lead to dismissal.
9. Legal Disability: Minority, Insanity, Etc.
Relevant Sections: Sections 6, 7, and 8
Meaning:
If a person entitled to file a suit or application is under a legal disability (minority, insanity, etc.) at the time the right to sue accrues, the limitation is suspended until the disability ceases.
Procedure:
Once the minor becomes a major (attains 18 years) or the person of unsound mind regains competence, the prescribed limitation starts running (subject to the maximum cap in Section 8).
Example:
A minor’s cause of action arises when they are 16. The normal limitation might be three years, but it will not run against them until they turn 18. Thus, the limitation effectively starts at age 18 and goes until 21 (subject to the 3-year period).
Exception (Section 8):
There is an overall cap that no extension shall be given beyond three years from the date when the disability ceases (or beyond the normal limitation, whichever is longer, subject to the language of Section 8).
10. Continuous Running of Time
Relevant Section: Section 9
Meaning: Once the period of limitation begins, it generally runs continuously. It does not “stop and start” except as provided by specific sections (e.g., acknowledgment in writing, fraud, etc.).
Procedure/Examples:
If the cause of action arose on January 1, limitation runs from January 2 forward, uninterrupted, unless an event under the Act (fraud, acknowledgment, etc.) triggers a reset or exclusion.
Exception:
Disability (discussed above), court closures, or any of the statutory exclusions (Sections 4, 14, 15, etc.).
11. Effect of Death Before or After Right to Sue Accrues
Relevant Section: Section 16
Meaning: If a person entitled to sue dies before the right to sue accrues, or if a person against whom there is a right to sue dies, special rules apply regarding how the limitation period continues or commences with respect to legal representatives.
Procedure:
If the person dies before the right accrues, limitation begins when a legal representative (heir) actually has the right to file the suit.
If the person dies after the right accrues but before filing, the suit can be filed by or against the legal representative within the remainder of the limitation period (subject to specific exceptions).
Example:
A has a right to sue B for breach of contract. B dies soon after the breach. Now A must sue B’s legal representative within the normal limitation or any special extension recognized by Section 16.
Exception:
If, for example, a minor heir inherits the right, the disability provisions (Sections 6–8) might also apply.
12. Effect of Fraud or Mistake
Relevant Section: Section 17
Meaning:
If a party’s right to sue (or to make an application) is concealed by the fraud of the opposite party, or if a mistake of law or fact affects their knowledge of the right, limitation may commence only when the fraud or mistake is discovered (or could have been discovered with reasonable diligence).
Procedure:
Show that there was concealment or deception preventing the plaintiff from knowing the cause of action.
The clock starts from the time of discovery of the fraud or rectification of the mistake.
Example:
A knows that B forged certain documents only after reviewing bank statements a year later. The limitation is calculated from the date A discovered (or should have discovered) the forgery.
Exception:
If the plaintiff fails to exercise reasonable diligence, the court may hold that the “discovery date” is earlier, thus limiting the benefit of Section 17.
13. Effect of Acknowledgment in Writing
Relevant Section: Section 18
Meaning:
A signed, written acknowledgment of liability given before the expiration of the prescribed limitation restarts the limitation period from the date of acknowledgment.
Procedure:
1. Obtain a valid acknowledgment (in writing and signed by the party or its authorized agent).
2. The fresh limitation commences from the date of that acknowledgment.
Example:
If the limitation for a debt would expire on December 31, 2025, but the debtor acknowledges the debt in writing on December 1, 2025, a new three-year period begins from December 1, 2025.
Exception:
The acknowledgment must be before the expiry of the original limitation and must unequivocally admit the liability. A vague or conditional statement may not count.
14. Effect of Part-Payment or Payment of Interest
Relevant Section: Section 19
Meaning:
If part of the principal is paid or interest is paid on a debt before the expiry of the limitation period, and the payment is acknowledged, the limitation period is renewed from the date of such payment.
Procedure:
1. Identify any part payment or payment of interest on an existing debt.
2.The payment must be made and accepted as such, and there should be an acknowledgment (usually in the debtor’s handwriting or a receipt).
Example:
A owes B INR 1,00,000 with a limitation set to expire on December 31, 2025. If A pays INR 10,000 on December 1, 2025, and this is duly noted in B’s ledger signed by A, the limitation restarts from December 1, 2025, for the remainder.
Exception:
Payment must be voluntary and recognized as part-payment of that specific debt. Mere deposit without clarity or acknowledgment may not trigger Section 19.
15. Effect of Acknowledgment or Payment by Another Person on Behalf of the Party
Relevant Section: Section 20
Meaning:
An acknowledgment or payment made by a duly authorized agent or a person liable jointly with the defendant can bind the liability of all, under certain circumstances.
Procedure:
Must show that the person making the acknowledgment or payment had the authority to do so on behalf of all or that the liability is joint.
Example:
A and B are partners in a firm. A makes part-payment of a firm debt. The payment may extend the limitation period for both A and B if made on behalf of the partnership.
Exception:
If a joint debtor acknowledges the debt in writing but does not do so on behalf of the others, it may not extend limitation against the non-acknowledging co-debtors.
16. Continuing Breaches, Torts, and Other Residual Principles
Relevant Sections: Sections 22, 23, 24 (and certain special situations in the Schedule)
Meaning:
Section 22: In the case of continuing breaches or torts, a fresh period of limitation begins to run at every moment of the time during which the breach or tort continues.
Section 23: When an act is not actionable without special damage, the time runs only from the point that special damage occurs.
Section 24: In suits based on instruments specifying a particular time, the calculation of time mentioned in the instrument is governed by the rules in the Act (no extension beyond what the Act allows).
Procedure/Examples:
For continuing trespass or nuisance (e.g., a polluting factory next door), each day’s unauthorized action can give rise to a fresh cause of action—though courts often apply practical limitations to repeated suits.
Exceptions:
The courts will look to whether the breach/tort is truly “continuing” or discrete. Not all repeated harms are “continuing breaches.”
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