COMMENCEMENT AND OPERATION OF

LAW OF LIMITATION

MID SEMESTER ASSIGNMENT

Submitted To:
Amity Law School, Mumbai
FOR THE PART FULLFILMENT
OF
BBA.LLB Honours –
Semester 7

Submitted By: AVINASH TAMANG

ENROLLMENT No. - A70621520006

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

Ms RAVEENA PARIHAR

ACADEMIC YEAR: 2023-2024[Odd Semester]

 DECLARATION BY THE STUDENT
I declare that this assignment is my own work completed under the supervision of Ms Raveena
Parihar. This assignment is based on my personal study and/or research and that I have
acknowledged all material and sources used in its preparation, whether they are books, articles,
reports, lecture notes, and any other kind of document, electronic or personal communication.
I
also certify that this assignment has not previously been submitted for assessment in any other
unit, except where specific permission has been granted from all unit coordinators involved, or
at
any other time in this unit, and that I have not copied in part or whole or otherwise plagiarized

the work of other students and/or persons.

Date: 19th November, 2023

Student name: AVINASH TAMANG

Enrolment No.: A70621520006
 HISTORY OF LIMITATION ACT

The 1963 Limitation Act is a consequence of the gradual evolution of the statute of limitations.
There was no relevant statute of limitations for the entirety of India prior to 1859. Act XIV of
1859, a statute pertaining to limitations, was the first to be established that applied to all courts
in that year. Following that, the Limitation Act was revoked in the years 1871, 1877, and 1908.
The Third Law Commission revoked the Limitation Act of 1908, bringing the Limitation Act
of 1963 into effect. While the 1963 Act discussed contracts entered into the territory of Jammu
and Kashmir or in a foreign country, the 1908 Act exclusively addressed contracts entered into
from outside the country.

OBJECTIVE OF THE LIMITATION ACT

The statute of limitations establishes a deadline for bringing legal action to uphold a right. The
Act's timetable outlines the deadlines for different types of lawsuits. This Act's primary goal is
to shorten the length of legal proceedings and expedite case resolution, which promotes
successful litigation. All of India will now be subject to the Limitation Act's requirements,
according the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. Provisions for the computation
of time for the period of restriction, the forgiveness of delay, etc., are included in the restriction
Act, 1963. The Limitation Act is composed of 137 articles, 32 sections, and 10 parts for each
article.

WHETHER THE ACT IS EXHAUSTIVE?

The Limitation Act is exhaustive with respect to all matters expressly dealt in it. It cannot be
extended by analogy. Ordinarily, the Act applies only to civil cases except in the matter
expressly and specifically provided for that purpose.
 RETROSPECTIVE OPERATION

The Supreme Court made it clear in BK Education Services Private Limited v. Parag Gupta
and Associates that the statute of limitations will be applied retroactively due to its procedural
nature. In Thirumalai Chemicals Ltd v. Union of India, the Supreme Court noted that statutes
of limitations are retroactive in the sense that they cover any cases filed after the statute of
limitations was implemented to enforce claims that had accumulated earlier. The Punjab and
Haryana High Court held in Excise and Taxation v. M/S Frigoglass India Private Ltd that the
law of limitation is a procedural law that applies retroactively unless specifically stated
otherwise in an amendment statute. Stated differently, unless an express or necessary
manifestation of a contrary intention.

LIMITATION BARS REMEDY

According to Section 3, an action, appeal, or application that is filed with the court after the
allotted time has passed woul1d be dismissed by the court as being filed outside of the allotted
period. The right is not eliminated by the statute of limitations; rather, it merely prevents the
judicial remedy. Put otherwise, this indicates that the statute of limitations solely specifies the
time frame for the initiation of legal procedures. It does not impose a time limit on establishing
a defence against such activities. As a result, the initial lawsuit right is still available. Section
27 is an exception to this norm, nevertheless.

In the case of Punjab National Bank and Ors v. Surendra Prasad Sinha, the Supreme Court
ruled that the parties' rights are not intended to be destroyed by the limitations rules. Only the
remedy is prohibited by Section 3; the underlying right is left intact.

In the case of Against the Judgement in As 15/1996 v. K.J. Anthony, the court determined that
a defendant in a lawsuit may raise any defence, even if it is barred by statute and thus not
enforceable in court.

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https://jajharkhand.in/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/limitation_book.pdf
In the case of Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing v. State of Bombay, it was decided that the
statute of limitations did not erase the debt; rather, it m2erely barred the remedy.

LIMITATION DOES NOT BAR DEFENCE

Even though the lawsuit is past due, the defendant is not limited by the statute of limitations if
he enters a valid plea in his defence. The case Rullia Ram Hakim Rai v. Fateh Singh established
that the statute of limitations does not bar defence. It only bars action, and the only thing that
is time-barred is its recovery. Nothing in the agreement forbids or hinders a debtor from paying
off his past-due obligations.

In the case of Shrimant Shamrao Suryavanshi v. Pralhad Bhairoba Suryavanshi, the Supreme
Court noted that while the Limitation Act denies the plaintiff the ability to enforce his rights
through a court of law, it does not restrict the defendant's ability to present a defence through
such a procedure defence is barred by limitation and is unenforceable in the Court.

APPLICATION TO COURTS

When an application is submitted to the appropriate officer of a High Court, it may be made
through a notice of motion under Section 3(c). The application must be filed on the day the
court reopens in accordance with Section 4 if the deadline for any application expires on the
day the court is closed.

PLEA OF LIMITATION: DUTY OF COURTS

If a lawsuit is filed after the deadline set by th3e Limitation Act, the court must dismiss it. The
Court will not continue with the suit if the time limit has passed. The provisions of Section 3
are mandatory. It is stated explicitly in Section 3 of the Act that any lawsuit filed, appeal

2
https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/1565/1/a1963-36.pdf
3
https://thc.nic.in/Central%20Governmental%20Acts/Limitation%20Act,%201963.pdf
granted, and application submitted after the deadline will be dismissed. even though there isn't
a defence established for limitation.

According to the ruling in Craft Centre v. Koncherry Coir Factories, the plaintiff must persuade
the court that his suit was filed on time. In the event that the plaintiff needs to rely on
acknowledgments to preserve the limitations due to time constraints, he must either prove them
or plead them, if rejected. The Court further held that even though the question of limitation
may not have been raised, Section 3's provisions are absolute and mandatory, and if a suit is
barred by the time it is filed, the court has an obligation to dismiss it. In ICICI Bank Ltd. v.
Trishla Apparels Pvt Ltd, it was decided that the court's duty-bound status is unquestionable.

The case of Mukund Ltd v. Mumbai International Airport established that, in the event that a
lawsuit is dismissed due to statute of limitations, the court must dismiss the lawsuit rather than
consider its merits.

STARTING POINT OF LIMITATION

The subject matter of the case determines when the statute of limitations starts to run, and the
Schedule in the Act provides a detailed start point for this period. Beginning on the date the
summons or notice is served, the decree or judgement is rendered, or the date the incident
giving rise to the lawsuit occurs, is normal. The accrual of the cause of action is the starting
point of limitation, according to the Supreme Court's ruling in Trustee's Port Bombay v.
Premier Automobile.

EXPIRY OF LIMITATION WHEN COURT IS CLOSED

Any lawsuit, appeal, or application must be filed with the court on the day it reopens if it is
closed on a particular day and the statute of limitations ends on that day. This indicates that a
party is barred not by his own actions but rather because the court is closed on that particular
day. According to Section 4 of the Limitation Act, a suit, appeal, or application must be
instituted, preferred, or made on the day the court reopens if the prescribed statute of limitations
for such a matter expires on a day when the court is closed According to this section's
explanation, a court will be considered closed on any given day if it remains closed for any
portion of that day's regular business operations.
For example, if a court reopens on January 1st an4d the deadline for filing an appeal is
December 30th (the day the court is closed), then the appeal may be filed on January 1st, the
day the court reopens.

CONDONATION DAY

A delay that is excused is one that is granted an extension of time in specific circumstances,
provided that the delay was caused by a valid reason. Section 5 discusses the circumstances
under which the prescribed period may be extended. It states that an appeal or application may
be admitted beyond the allotted time if the appellant or applicant can persuade the court that
he had good reason to not prefer it within that time frame. This Section also states that an
application filed in accordance with Order XXI of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of
1908), may be filed. According to the explanation, if the applicant or appellant has been
mislead by any High Court order, practise, or judgement, then that information will be taken
into account when calculating the prescribed period. It will meet the requirements for a
sufficient cause under this section.

However, the court will reject the application, suit, or appeal if a party fails to provide a
compelling reason for the delay.

The court held in the State of Kerala v. K. T. Shaduli Yussuff case that the circumstances of
each case determine whether or not there is sufficient cause for a delay to be excused.

Case law: Collector (LA) v. Katiji (1987)

DETAILS

In this instance, the State of Jammu and Kashmir filed an appeal against the decision to increase
compensation in the case of land acquisition for a public purpose, posing significant queries

https://www.patnalawcollege.ac.in/econtent/LIMITATION%20ACT%20INTRODUCTION%20by%20Prabhat
%20Kumar.pdf
about valuation theory. Four days after the appeal was filed, the High Court dismissed it on the
grounds that it was time-barred. Later, the State used special leave to appeal to the Supreme
Court.5

HELD

The Supreme Court granted the appeal and decided that Section 5's definition of "sufficient
cause" is sufficiently ambiguous to allow the Court to provide the parties with substantial
justice. The High Court's decision to dismiss the appeal as time-barred was overturned, and the

case was returned to the High Court for consideration of the merits after both parties were given
a fair chance to be heard.

Additionally, the Supreme Court established a few guidelines that the Court must adhere to
when interpreting cases involving the forgiveness of tardiness:

. Typically, filing an appeal after the deadline does not benefit the litigant;

. If a delay is not tolerated, a meritorious case may be dismissed;

. A practical explanation for the delay is required;

. Delay does not help a litigant; on the contrary, it puts him in grave danger;

. It is important to realise that the judiciary is resected because it can abolish injustice, not
because it has the authority to legalise injustice on technical grounds.

DELAY BY GOVE6RNMENT

According to Section 25, the right to such access and use of light or air, way or waterway, or
use of their easement shall be absolute and indefeasible where a government-owned property

5
https://blog.ipleaders.in/limitation-act-1963/
6
https://www.advocatekhoj.com/library/bareacts/limitation/index.php?Title=Limitation%20Act,%201963
has been peacefully and openly enjoyed as an easement and as of a right by any person claiming
title thereto for thirty years without any interruption. In the case of a private property, the period
is twenty years.

EXCLUSION OF TIME

The Limitation Act's section 12 through section 15 address the exclusion of time. The time that
must be subtracted when calculating the statute of limitations in court cases is covered in
Section 12. Subsection (1) states that the day the cause of action arises is the day that the period
of limitation for any suit, appeal, or application is to be calculated, and that day shall be
excluded.

The following time frame must be subtracted from the calculation of the statute of limitations:

the date that any suit, appeal, or application's statute of limitations was calculated.

When filing an appeal or requesting permission to appeal, revise, or review a judgement, the
following must be considered:

i) The day the judgement that is being contested was rendered.

ii) The amount of time required to get a copy of the judgement, sentence, or order that is being
contested or that is being reviewed or revised.

When an appeal is filed against a decree or order, when it is requested to be amended or

reviewed, or when someone requests permission to appeal from a decree:

The amount of time needed to get a copy of the ruling

If someone wants to request that an award be set aside:

i) How long it takes to get a copy of 7the award

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https://trilegal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Limitation-Periods-Overview-India-1.pdf
The explanation for this section states that the time the court took to prepare the decree or order
before an application for a copy was made shall not be excluded from the calculation of the
time required to obtain a copy of the decree or order.

The time that the applicant spent prosecuting in good faith shall be excluded under Section 13
in cases where an application for permission to sue or appeal as a pauper (indigent) has been
made and denied.

According to Section 14, if a party is acting in good faith in a court without jurisdiction over
any suit or application, the party should use that time to diligently pursue another civil action,
which will take place in

The following time frame is excluded under Section 15:

the day the injunction or stay order is issued and revoked.

If prior government approval or sanction is needed, the time required to secure that approval
or sanction.

When a company is being wound up, the period of time that the receiver or liquidator was
appointed.

When a purchaser sues for possession at a sale held in accordance with a decree—during the
period that the action to set aside the sale has been pursued.

the period of time the defendant is not present in India and is on Central Government-mandated
territory outside of India.

CONCLUSION
The amount of time that a person has to assert his or her legal rights is specified by the statute
of limitations. This Act monitors the cases to ensure th8ey don't drag on for too long. This Act
also acknowledges that not all circumstances can be met by the same standards, and that there
are instances in which someone wishing to file an appeal or institute a lawsuit for a legitimate
reason cannot do so within the Act's allotted time frame.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/reports/Report193.pdf

2. https://jajharkhand.in/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/limitation_book.pdf

8
http://www.commonlii.org/in/legis/cen/num_act/la1963133/
3. https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/1565/1/a1963-36.pdf

4. https://thc.nic.in/Central%20Governmental%20Acts/Limitation%20Act,%201963.pdf

5. https://www.patnalawcollege.ac.in/econtent/LIMITATION%20ACT%20INTRODUCTION%20by%20
Prabhat%20Kumar.pdf

6. https://blog.ipleaders.in/limitation-act-1963/

7. https://www.advocatekhoj.com/library/bareacts/limitation/index.php?Title=Limitation%20Act,%20196
3

8. https://trilegal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Limitation-Periods-Overview-India-1.pdf

9. http://www.commonlii.org/in/legis/cen/num_act/la1963133/