Law of Limitation: Nature, Object and Scheme of the Act

A right that is never enforced cannot hang over the other party forever. The law of limitation fixes the time within which a person must approach a court, after which the remedy is lost. It does not ask whether the claim is good; it asks whether it was brought in time. In India the subject is governed mainly by the Limitation Act, 1963, which prescribes periods for suits, appeals and applications and lays down how those periods are computed, extended and excluded. This note explains the nature and object of limitation, its history, the scheme of the Act and the Schedule, and where the Act applies.

1. Nature and Object

The policy behind limitation

Figure 1: The policy behind limitation

Meaning. Limitation is the period within which a legal proceeding must be started. Prescription, its close relative, is the acquisition or loss of a right by the passage of time.
Rajender Singh v Santa Singh (1973). The object of limitation is to prevent the disturbance of rights acquired through long, unchallenged enjoyment, and to compel the vigilant pursuit of claims.
N. Balakrishnan v M. Krishnamurthy (1998). Rules of limitation are not meant to destroy the rights of parties; they ensure that parties do not resort to dilatory tactics and seek their remedy promptly.
No equity against limitation. A court cannot extend limitation on grounds of hardship or equity unless the Act provides for it (Topic 23)

2. Remedy Barred, Right Not Extinguished

Three effects of the passage of time

Figure 2: Three effects of the passage of time

Bombay Dyeing v State of Bombay (1958). The law of limitation bars the remedy and not the right; a time-barred debt remains a debt.
Punjab National Bank v Surendra Prasad Sinha (1992). A bank could adjust a time-barred debt against the guarantor's deposit, since limitation only bars the remedy by suit; a criminal complaint against the bank's officers was quashed.
Consequences. A time-barred debt may be paid voluntarily, adjusted, secured by a fresh promise under s.25(3) of the Contract Act, or relied on in other ways the law allows (Topic 17)
Exceptions. Section 27 extinguishes the right to property itself, and s.25 creates a right of easement; these are rules of substantive law within the Act (Topics 21, 22)

3. History

Early law. Bengal Regulation III of 1793 and later Regulations, then Acts of 1845, 1848 and 1859.
Codified Acts. The Limitation Acts of 1871 and 1877 extended limitation to easements and to the extinguishment of rights; the Indian Limitation Act, 1908 followed.
The 1963 Act. On the Third Report of the Law Commission (1956), Parliament enacted the Limitation Act, 1963, in force from 1 January 1964.

4. Scheme of the Act

Five Parts, 32 sections

Figure 3: Five Parts, 32 sections

The Schedule: 137 articles in three Divisions

Figure 4: The Schedule: 137 articles in three Divisions

How the Schedule works. Each article has three columns: the description of the suit, appeal or application, the period of limitation, and the time from which the period begins to run.
Residuary articles. Article 113 for suits and Article 137 for applications apply where no other article fits.
Government suits. Under Article 112, suits by or on behalf of the Central or a State Government have 30 years, except suits before the Supreme Court in its original jurisdiction.

5. Where the Act Applies

Courts, not tribunals. In Sakuru v Tanaji (1985) the Court held that the Act applies to proceedings in courts, not to quasi-judicial authorities, unless a statute applies it expressly.
Applications under any statute. In Kerala State Electricity Board v T.P. Kunhaliumma (1976) the Court held that Article 137 governs applications to civil courts under any Act, not only under the CPC.
Special laws. Section 29(2) applies ss.4 to 24 to periods fixed by special or local laws unless expressly excluded (Topic 24)
Arbitration and insolvency. Section 43 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and s.238A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 apply the Limitation Act to those proceedings (Topic 25)
Writs and criminal cases. No fixed period applies to writ petitions, though delay and laches can defeat relief; criminal appeals are covered by Articles 114 and 115, and limitation for taking cognizance is in the BNSS (Topic 26)

⚠ Exam trap

Limitation bars the remedy, not the right, except under s.27 (right to property extinguished) and s.25 (easement acquired). The 1963 Act came into force on 1 January 1964 on the Law Commission's Third Report (1956). The Schedule has 137 articles: suits 1 to 113, appeals 114 to 117, applications 118 to 137. The residuary articles are 113 (suits) and 137 (applications). The Act applies to courts, not to quasi-judicial bodies, unless a statute says so.

6. Frequently Asked Questions

Does limitation extinguish the right or only the remedy?

Ordinarily only the remedy. A time-barred debt still exists and may be paid, adjusted or revived by a written promise, as Punjab National Bank v Surendra Prasad Sinha (1992) illustrates. The exception is s.27, under which the right to property itself is extinguished when the period for a suit for possession expires.

Does the Limitation Act apply to tribunals?

Not of its own force. In Sakuru v Tanaji (1985) the Supreme Court held that the Act applies only to courts. A tribunal or quasi-judicial authority is bound by it only where the statute creating the tribunal applies the Act, wholly or in part.

7. Related Topics

Topic 2: Definitions and Computation of Time. Key terms and how periods are counted.
Topic 3: Bar of Limitation, Section 3. The central provision of the Act.
Topic 24: Limitation and Special or Local Laws. Section 29(2)