Exclusion of Time in Legal Proceedings: Section 12

A party cannot frame an appeal without knowing what the court decided, and the decree and judgment are usually needed in certified form. Section 12 of the Limitation Act therefore excludes certain days from the count: the first day of every period, and, for appeals, revisions, reviews and challenges to awards, the time reasonably needed to obtain copies. The section is pure arithmetic, but its conditions are strict. This note explains each sub-section, the Explanation, the meaning of time requisite, and a worked computation.

1. The Provision

Figure 1: The four sub-sections and the Explanation

• s.12(1), first day. In computing the period for any suit, appeal or application, the day from which the period is to be reckoned is excluded.
• s.12(2), appeals and the like. For an appeal, an application for leave to appeal, revision or review, the day on which the judgment was pronounced and the time requisite for obtaining a copy of the decree, sentence or order are excluded.
• s.12(3), the judgment. Where a decree or order is appealed from, revised or reviewed, or leave to appeal is sought, the time requisite for a copy of the judgment is also excluded.
• s.12(4), awards. For an application to set aside an award, the time requisite for a copy of the award is excluded.
• Suits. Only s.12(1) applies to suits. The copy provisions are confined to the proceedings they name.

2. Time Requisite

• Meaning. The time actually and reasonably needed to obtain the copy: ordinarily from the date the copy is applied for until the date it is ready for delivery. Delay caused by the party, such as late payment of copying charges or failure to collect a ready copy, is not excluded.
• Copy sought in time. The exclusion helps only if the copy is applied for while the period is still running; once the period has expired, a later copy application cannot revive it.
• Overlapping copies. Where copies of the decree and the judgment are sought together, the overlapping time is excluded once, not twice.
• Copy not needed. Courts have generally allowed the exclusion even where rules permit filing without a certified copy, since the statute does not make the exclusion depend on the copy being filed.

3. The Explanation

• Text. Time taken by the court to prepare the decree or order before an application for a copy is made is not excluded.
• Udayan Chinubhai v R.C. Bali (1977). The Supreme Court read the Explanation as denying a premium to idle litigants: time spent in drawing up the decree counts against a party who has not yet applied for a copy. If the party applies before the decree is drawn up, the time until the copy is ready is excluded.
• Practical rule. Apply for certified copies promptly after the judgment, so that any time the court takes to prepare the decree falls within the excluded period.

4. Worked Example

Figure 2: First appeal from a subordinate court's decree

5. Wider Application

• Criminal appeals and revisions. Section 12(2) refers to a sentence, so it applies to criminal appeals and revisions governed by Articles 114, 115 and 131.
• Special laws. Through s.29(2), s.12 applies to periods fixed by special or local laws unless excluded (Topic 24)
• Arbitration. Under s.34(3) of the Arbitration Act, time runs from receipt of the signed copy of the award, so the question of excluding time for a copy under s.12(4) rarely arises.

6. Frequently Asked Questions

Is the time taken to obtain a certified copy excluded for a suit?

No. Only s.12(1), which excludes the first day, applies to suits. The exclusion of time for obtaining copies under ss.12(2) to (4) is confined to appeals, applications for leave to appeal, revisions, reviews and applications to set aside awards.

Is the time taken to draw up the decree excluded?

Only if the copy was applied for before the decree was drawn up. Under the Explanation to s.12, time taken by the court to prepare the decree or order before an application for a copy is made is not excluded.

7. Related Topics

• Topic 2: Definitions and Computation of Time. The method of computation.
• Topic 11: Time Spent in a Wrong Court, Section 14. The next exclusion.