Counting limitation: the three questions to ask first
Which article applies, when time starts, and what time is excluded.
Section 3 of the Limitation Act, 1963 requires a court to dismiss a suit, appeal or application filed after the prescribed period, even if the other side never raises limitation. Counting the period correctly is not optional.
1. Which article applies?
The Schedule sets the period for each kind of proceeding. Where nothing more specific applies, two residuary articles do the work:
| Article | Covers | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Article 113 | Any suit for which no period is provided elsewhere | Three years from when the right to sue accrues |
| Article 137 | Any other application for which no period is provided | Three years from when the right to apply accrues |
Special statutes may set their own periods. Section 29(2) decides how far the Act’s general provisions apply to them.
2. When does time start?
The third column of the Schedule fixes the starting point for each article: the date of a breach, of a demand, of knowledge, of a decree. Reading the wrong starting point is the most common mistake.
3. What time is excluded?
- Section 12 — the day from which the period runs, and the time taken to obtain a certified copy of the decree or order appealed from.
- Section 14 — time spent prosecuting, in good faith and with due diligence, a proceeding in a court without jurisdiction.
- Section 5 — appeals and applications (but not suits, and not applications under Order XXI) may be admitted late where there is sufficient cause.
Write the computation down: the article, the start date, each exclusion, and the last day. A deadline you cannot show your working for is a deadline you cannot defend.
General information, not legal advice. Check the current text of the Act and the judgments before you rely on any of it.
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