Death before the Right to Sue Accrues: Section 16

Limitation presupposes two people: one who can sue and one who can be sued. If the person entitled, or the person liable, dies before the right to sue arises, there may for a time be no one on one side of the dispute. Section 16 of the Limitation Act deals with that gap: time runs only from when there is a legal representative who can sue or be sued. The section is the counterpart of section 9, which governs death after time has begun. This note covers the text, its exclusions, its relationship with other sections, and examples.

1. The Provision

Figure 1: The two limbs of section 16

• s.16(1), claimant dies. Where a person who would have had a right to sue or apply dies before the right accrues, or where the right accrues only on the death of a person, limitation is computed from the time when there is a legal representative of the deceased capable of instituting the suit or application.
• s.16(2), person liable dies. Where the person against whom the right would have accrued dies before it accrues, or the right against a person accrues on his death, limitation runs from when there is a legal representative against whom the suit or application may be brought.
• s.16(3), exclusions. Neither rule applies to suits to enforce rights of pre-emption, or to suits for possession of immovable property or of a hereditary office.

2. The Underlying Principle

• Two parties needed. A cause of action is complete only when there is a person who can sue and a person who can be sued. Section 16 applies that principle where death leaves one side empty at the moment the right would arise.
• When a representative exists. Where the deceased leaves heirs who succeed at once, there is a legal representative immediately and time runs from the usual starting point. Section 16 matters where no one can yet act for the estate, for example where a representative must be appointed by the court.
• Why possession suits are excluded. Possession of land, a hereditary office and pre-emption have their own starting points in the Schedule. Allowing s.16 to delay them would unsettle titles that the Act intends to quiet, especially given s.27 (Topic 22)

3. Section 16 Among Related Provisions

Figure 2: Which provision governs a death

• Section 9. If the death occurs after time has begun to run, s.9 applies and time continues; the legal representative must sue within what remains (Topic 8)
• Section 6(3). If the person entitled was under disability when time would have begun and dies while still under it, the legal representative gets the full period from the death (Topic 7)
• Article 65, Explanation (b). Where a Hindu or Muslim is entitled to possession of immovable property on the death of a Hindu or Muslim female, the defendant's possession becomes adverse only when the female dies. This is the Schedule's own rule for a case that s.16(3) keeps outside s.16.

4. Examples

• Death before accrual. A sum becomes payable to B on 1 June 2025. B dies on 1 May 2025, and an administrator of his estate is appointed by the court on 1 October 2025. Under s.16(1), the three years run from 1 October 2025, when a representative capable of suing first exists.
• Right accruing on death. A debtor promises to repay a loan on his death. Under s.16(2), time runs against his estate from when there is a legal representative against whom the creditor can sue.
• Excluded case. A pre-emptor dies before the sale that gives rise to the right. His heirs must sue within the ordinary period for pre-emption; s.16 gives them no extra time.

5. Frequently Asked Questions

Does section 16 apply to a suit for possession of land?

No. Section 16(3) excludes suits for the possession of immovable property, along with suits for a hereditary office and suits to enforce rights of pre-emption. Their limitation is governed by the articles of the Schedule alone.

What if the claimant dies after the right to sue has accrued?

Then s.16 does not apply. Time has already begun to run, and under s.9 no subsequent disability or inability stops it. The legal representative must sue within the balance of the period.

6. Related Topics

• Topic 8: Continuous Running of Time, Section 9. Death after time begins.
• Topic 22: Extinction of Right and Adverse Possession, Section 27. Why possession suits are treated separately.