Continuous Running of Time: Section 9, Limitation Act

Section 6 protects a person who is under disability when the limitation period would begin. Section 9 completes the picture: once the period has begun, nothing that happens later stops it. The rule gives limitation its certainty, since the end date can be fixed on the day time begins. The Act itself provides for exclusions and fresh periods, but these are specific statutory adjustments, not exceptions created by hardship. This note explains the rule, its single proviso, the contrast with section 6, and the provisions that change the count.

1. The Rule

Figure 1: How section 9 operates

• Text, s.9. Where once time has begun to run, no subsequent disability or inability to institute a suit or make an application stops it.
• Purpose. The end date is fixed when time begins. Later events personal to the claimant cannot reopen it, which protects the defendant's repose.
• Wide words. 'Disability' covers the legal disabilities in s.6; 'inability' covers any practical obstacle, such as illness, absence from India, imprisonment or financial difficulty.
• When time begins. Time begins on the event stated in the third column of the applicable article, read with the exclusion of the first day under s.12(1) (Topic 30)

2. Section 6 and Section 9 Together

Figure 2: The timing of the disability decides which section applies

• Example 1. A cause of action for a debt arises on 1 June 2023 against a plaintiff of 25. He becomes insane in 2024. Time continues to run and expires on 1 June 2026.
• Example 2. The same cause of action arises when the plaintiff is already insane. Under s.6, the three years run from the day the insanity ends, subject to the s.8 cap.
• Death after time begins. If the claimant dies after time has begun, his legal representative must sue within the remainder of the period. Death of the defendant likewise does not stop time; the suit lies against his legal representatives.

3. The Proviso

• Text. Where letters of administration to the estate of a creditor have been granted to his debtor, the running of limitation for a suit to recover the debt is suspended while the administration continues.
• Reason. The debtor, as administrator, would have to sue himself. Since no one can effectively enforce the debt, the law suspends time until the administration ends.
• Only true suspension. This is the only case in the Act where time, having begun, is suspended and then resumes; the other provisions work by exclusion or fresh start.

4. What Does Adjust the Count

Figure 3: Statutory adjustments, not exceptions to section 9

• Exclusion. Sections 12 to 15 deduct defined periods, such as time to obtain copies, time spent in good faith in a court without jurisdiction, and time under a stay or statutory notice.
• Postponement. Section 17 does not stop time; it postpones the start until fraud or mistake is discovered.
• Fresh period. Sections 18 and 19 start a new period from a written acknowledgment or part payment made before expiry; s.22 gives a fresh period for every moment a continuing wrong continues.
• Covid orders. In In Re: Cognizance for Extension of Limitation, the Supreme Court under Article 142 excluded the period from 15 March 2020 to 28 February 2022, with at least 90 days from 1 March 2022 for periods expiring within it (Topic 27)
• No judicial exceptions. Outside these provisions, courts cannot stop time on grounds of hardship (Topic 23)

5. Frequently Asked Questions

Does the death of the plaintiff stop the limitation period?

No. If time has begun to run, the death of the person entitled to sue does not stop it. His legal representative must sue within what remains of the period. Section 6(3) applies only where a person under disability at the start dies while the disability continues.

Is section 17 an exception to section 9?

Not strictly. Section 9 deals with time that has already begun. Section 17 operates earlier: in cases of fraud or mistake, it postpones the beginning of the period until the plaintiff discovers, or could with reasonable diligence have discovered, the fraud or mistake.

What is the proviso to section 9 about?

Where letters of administration to a deceased creditor's estate are granted to his debtor, limitation for a suit to recover the debt is suspended while the administration continues, because the debtor cannot be expected to sue himself.

6. Related Topics

• Topic 7: Legal Disability, Sections 6 to 8. Disability at the start of the period.
• Topic 27: Supreme Court Covid Extension of Limitation. The excluded period.