Law relating to Limitation: formula sheet

Key formulas

Object of limitation

Interest reipublicae ut sit finis litium

It is in the public interest that litigation must come to an end.

Bar of limitation (Section 3(1))

Suit, appeal or application after the prescribed period → dismissed

Subject to Sections 4 to 24. Dismissal follows even if limitation is not set up as a defence.

Period of limitation (Section 2(j))

Period of limitation = period prescribed by the Schedule

This is the raw period listed in the Schedule.

Prescribed period (Section 2(j))

Prescribed period = period of limitation computed under the Act

It is after applying the exclusions and extensions in the Act.

Institution of suit: ordinary case

Date of presenting the plaint to the proper officer

Section 3(2)(a)(i).

Institution of suit: pauper

Date of application for leave to sue as a pauper

Section 3(2)(a)(ii).

Institution of claim against company in winding up by court

Date the claimant first sends the claim to the official liquidator

Section 3(2)(a)(iii).

Set off and counter claim

Set off: date of the main suit. Counter claim: date it is made in court

Each is treated as a separate suit. Section 3(2)(b).

Start day excluded

Last day = (start day, excluded) + prescribed period + excluded time

Section 12(1): the day from which the period is reckoned is not counted.

Appeals, revision, review

Excluded: day of judgment + time requisite for obtaining copies

Section 12(2) and (3). Time the court took to prepare the decree before you applied for a copy is not excluded.

Award set-aside application

Excluded: time requisite for obtaining a copy of the award

Section 12(4).

Bona fide wrong-court proceeding

Excluded: time of the earlier proceeding, counting both its first and last day

Section 14: due diligence, good faith, same matter in issue, court unable to entertain it for defect of jurisdiction or like cause.

Injunction, notice, sanction, absence

Excluded: injunction period (with first and last day), notice period, sanction time, defendant's absence

Section 15(1), (2) and (5). For sanction, the application date and the order receipt date are both counted.

Court closed on last day

If last day is a court-closed day, file on the re-opening day

Section 4. It applies to suits, appeals and applications.

Continuous running

Once time runs, later disability does not stop it

Section 9. Only exception: letters of administration of a creditor's estate granted to the debtor.

Section 4: court closed on last day

Last day of prescribed period falls on a day the court is closed → suit, appeal or application may be filed on the day the court re-opens

Applies to suits, appeals and applications. It is not a discretion; no explanation of cause is needed.

Section 4 Explanation: meaning of closed

Court deemed closed if it is closed during any part of its normal working hours on that day

Even partial closure during normal working hours counts.

Section 5: condonation of delay

Appeal or application may be admitted after the prescribed period if the appellant or applicant satisfies the court of sufficient cause for not filing within the period

Applies only to appeals and applications. Court has discretion.

Section 5: exclusions

Not available for suits; not available for applications under any provision of Order XXI of the CPC, 1908

Order XXI covers execution of decrees.

Section 5 Explanation

Being misled by an order, practice or judgment of the High Court in ascertaining or computing the period may be sufficient cause

The word is 'may'. It is not automatic.

Section 6(1): basic rule

Disability at start of period → suit within same period after disability ceases

Applies to a minor, insane person or idiot, for suits and execution applications. Disability must exist when time is to be reckoned.

Section 6(2): two or successive disabilities

Period runs after both disabilities have ceased

Applies where two disabilities exist at the start, or another sets in before the first ceases.

Section 6(3): disability till death

Period runs from the death, for the legal representative

The legal representative gets the same period after the death.

Section 6(4) and (5): representative's position

(4) Representative under disability at date of death → sub-sections (1) and (2) apply. (5) Death after disability ceases but within the allowed period → same period after the death

Sub-section (5) gives the representative the period that would have been available to the deceased.

Section 7: joint right-holders

Discharge possible without the disabled person → time runs against all. Not possible → time does not run against any until a discharge can be given or disability ceases

Applies to discharge from any liability, including immovable property.

Section 9: continuous running

Once time runs, no later disability stops it

Only exception: letters of administration of a creditor's estate granted to his debtor suspend time during administration.

Fraud or mistake: start of time (Section 17(1))

Limitation starts on the date of discovery, or the date it could have been discovered with reasonable diligence

For a concealed document, time starts when the plaintiff first had the means of producing it or compelling its production.

Acknowledgment (Section 18)

Written + signed by the party against whom the right is claimed (or through whom he derives title or liability) + made before the period expires = fresh period from the date of signing

Signing can be personal or by a duly authorised agent. Undated writing: oral evidence of the time of signing is allowed, but not of its contents.

Part payment (Section 19)

Payment on account of a debt (or interest on a legacy) + made before expiry by the person liable or his authorised agent + acknowledgment of the payment in the payer's handwriting or signed writing = fresh period from the date of payment

The acknowledgment proviso does not apply to interest paid before 1 January 1928. A decree or order money is not a debt under Section 19.

What an acknowledgment may contain (Section 18, Explanation)

Valid even if it omits the exact nature of the property or right, says the time for payment has not come, refuses to pay, claims set-off, or is addressed to a stranger

An application to execute a decree is not an application in respect of any property or right.

Several persons (Section 20(2))

Acknowledgment or payment by one joint contractor, partner, executor or mortgagee does not bind the others by itself

Under Section 20(3), a Hindu family manager's acknowledgment or payment binds the whole family for a liability incurred by the family.

New party (Section 21)

Suit is treated as instituted against or by a new party on the date he is added; earlier date possible if omission was a bona fide mistake

Section 21(2): no effect where parties change by assignment or devolution during the suit, or where plaintiff and defendant swap sides.

Easement by prescription (private property)

Enjoyment as of right + without interruption + peaceable + 20 years = absolute and indefeasible right (s. 25(1))

Light and air: access and use enjoyed for and with a building, peaceably, as of right, without interruption, for 20 years. Way, watercourse, use of water or other easement: peaceably and openly enjoyed by a person claiming title to it as an easement and as of right, without interruption, for 20 years.

Easement over Government property

20 years becomes 30 years (s. 25(3))

Applies where the property over which the right is claimed belongs to the Government.

Timing of the period

Period of 20 (or 30) years must end within 2 years next before the suit (s. 25(2))

The period is counted back from the suit in which the claim is contested, not from any random date.

Meaning of interruption

Actual discontinuance by obstruction by another person + submitted to or acquiesced in for 1 year after notice (Explanation to s. 25)

Both conditions must be met. The notice must be of the obstruction and of the person who made or authorised it.

Extinguishment of right to property

Period limited for a suit for possession ends → right to the property is extinguished (s. 27)

It applies to the person who had the right to sue for possession. It does not itself prescribe the period; read the Schedule for that.

Bar of limitation (Section 3(1))

Suit, appeal or application made after the prescribed period → dismissed, even if limitation is not pleaded

Subject to Sections 4 to 24, which allow extension or exclusion.

Continuing breach or tort (Section 22)

Continuing breach/tort → fresh period begins at every moment the breach/tort continues

Applies only while the wrong is continuing. A completed wrong is not covered.

Act needing special damage (Section 23)

Period runs from the time the injury results

Applies where the act gives no cause of action unless a specific injury actually results.

Schedule approach

Period of limitation = period in the Schedule; starting point = third column of the Schedule

Section 2(j) defines the period of limitation by reference to the Schedule.

Schedule: common periods for suits

Suit for price of goods sold and delivered, money lent, compensation for breach of contract: 3 years; suit to recover immovable property based on title: 12 years

Commonly taught Schedule periods. Check the exact start point for each entry in the Schedule.

Schedule: common periods for appeals

Appeal to the High Court: 90 days; appeal to any other court: 30 days

Commonly taught under the Schedule. Check the exact entry for the type of order or decree.

Section 29(1)

Limitation Act does not affect section 25 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872

A saving for the Contract Act rule on agreements without consideration.

Section 29(2), first part

Special or local law with a different period → section 3 applies as if that period were the Schedule period

The bar of limitation operates on the special period. Dismissal follows even if limitation is not pleaded.

Section 29(2), second part

Sections 4 to 24 apply to a special or local law only if not expressly excluded by it

Default is application. Exclusion must be express.

Section 29(3)

Marriage and divorce laws: the Act does not apply, save as those laws provide

Applies to suits or proceedings under such laws.

Section 29(4)

Sections 25 and 26 and the definition of easement in section 2 do not apply where the Indian Easements Act, 1882 extends

Easement rules in the Easements Act govern those territories.

Section 30 (transitional)

Suit: shorter period under 1963 Act than under 1908 Act → seven years from commencement or the 1908 period, whichever expires earlier. Appeal or application: ninety days or the 1908 period, whichever expires earlier

Section 30(a) has a proviso protecting the 1963 period in certain cases. Section 31 bars revival of matters already barred under the 1908 Act.

Quick revision

• The Limitation Act, 1963 extends to the whole of India (Section 1).
• A suit, appeal or application filed after the prescribed period is dismissed under Section 3, even if limitation is not raised as a defence.
• Section 4: if the period ends on a day the court is closed, you may file on the day it re-opens.
• A court is treated as closed if it is closed during any part of its normal working hours that day.
• Section 6 covers a minor, insane person or idiot at the time the period begins; a child in the womb counts as a minor.
• Section 6(3): if the disability lasts until death, the legal representative gets the same period after the death.
• Section 8: disability extension cannot go beyond three years from cessation of disability or death, and it does not apply to pre-emption suits.
• Section 17: in fraud, mistake or concealed documents, time starts only on discovery, or when it could have been found with reasonable diligence.
• Section 17 does not help against a purchaser for value who had no notice of the fraud, mistake or concealment.
• Section 17(2): for fraud or force that blocked execution of a decree, apply within one year of discovery or the end of force.
• Section 22: in a continuing breach or tort, fresh limitation runs at every moment the wrong continues.
• Section 25: easements become absolute after twenty years of peaceful, open use as of right, and thirty years if the property belongs to the Government.
• Section 29(2): for special laws with their own period, Sections 4 to 24 apply unless the special law expressly excludes them.

Common mistakes

• Saying the court dismisses only if the defendant raises limitation. Fix: Quote Section 3(1): dismissal follows although limitation has not been set up as a defence.
• Counting the date of institution as the date the plaint was drafted or posted. Fix: Use the date the plaint is presented to the proper officer. For a pauper, use the date of the application for leave.
• Counting the first day of the period. Fix: Section 12(1) excludes the day from which the period is reckoned. Day one is the next day.
• Excluding the whole time taken to get a certified copy, including the court's delay in preparing the decree. Fix: The Explanation to Section 12 says time the court took to prepare the decree before you applied for a copy is not excluded. Only time after you apply counts.
• Applying Section 5 to a suit. Fix: Section 5 speaks only of appeals and applications. For a late suit, Section 5 is unavailable.
• Saying delay is condoned as of right once a reason is given. Fix: The court 'may' admit the appeal or application. The applicant must satisfy the court, and the court exercises discretion.
• Giving extra time for a disability that began after time started running. Fix: Check the disability on the date time starts. Cite Section 9: later disability does not stop time.
• Adding the period to the date of birth instead of the date majority is attained. Fix: Find the date the minor becomes a major, then add the full period prescribed in the Schedule.
• Treating an acknowledgment made after the period expired as giving a fresh period. Fix: Always check that the acknowledgment or payment came before the prescribed period expired.
• Accepting an oral acknowledgment or oral promise to pay. Fix: Section 18 needs writing signed by the party. Oral evidence only helps to prove the time of an undated writing, not its contents.

Exam tips

• Start every answer with the maxim interest reipublicae ut sit finis litium and its meaning when the question asks about the object.
• Quote Section 3(1) closely, including the phrase "although limitation has not been set up as a defence".
• Learn the three cases of institution in Section 3(2)(a) and the separate rules for set off and counter claim.
• Write the two Section 2(j) definitions side by side so the difference is clear.
• Close each problem with a clear conclusion: within time, or dismissed under Section 3.
• Write the section number next to each exclusion. Examiners reward the provision first, then the facts, then the conclusion.
• In problems, show a date line: start day dropped, period added, exclusions added, last day. This earns step marks even if the final date has a slip.
• For Section 14, list the conditions one by one and tick each against the facts. Missing one is the usual way to lose marks.