Schedule Divisions II and III: Articles 136 and 137

After the suit articles come the shorter periods that govern what follows a decree: appeals in the Second Division and applications in the Third. These periods are measured in days, so errors are costly. The Third Division ends with two of the most important articles in the Schedule: Article 136, which gives twelve years to execute a decree, and Article 137, the residuary article for applications, which now reaches arbitration, insolvency and probate. This note covers both Divisions and the leading cases on Articles 136 and 137.

1. Division II: Appeals

Figure 1: Articles 114 to 117

• Article 116. Appeals under the CPC: 90 days to a High Court and 30 days to any other court, from the date of the decree or order.
• Article 117. Appeals from a decree or order of a High Court to the same court, such as Letters Patent or intra-court appeals: 30 days.
• Computation. Time for obtaining copies is excluded under s.12, and delay may be condoned under s.5 (Topics 5, 10)
• Criminal appeals. Articles 114 and 115 refer to the old Code of Criminal Procedure; their periods are read with the corresponding provisions of the BNSS (Topic 26)

2. Division III, Part I: Specified Applications

Figure 2: Selected articles in Part I

• Short periods. Leave to defend a summary suit has only 10 days from service of summons (Article 118). Restoration after dismissal for default, setting aside an ex parte decree and review each have 30 days.
• Article 123. Thirty days from the ex parte decree, or, where the summons was not duly served, from when the applicant had knowledge of the decree.
• Substitution and abatement. 90 days from death to bring legal representatives on record (Article 120), and 60 days from abatement to set it aside (Article 121)
• Execution sales. Sixty days from the sale to set it aside (Article 127); one year from when the sale becomes absolute for the purchaser to seek delivery of possession (Article 134)
• Revision, Article 131. Ninety days from the decree, order or sentence sought to be revised.

3. Articles 136 and 137

Figure 3: Execution and the residuary article

• Article 136. Twelve years to execute any decree or order of a civil court, other than a decree for a mandatory injunction, from when the decree becomes enforceable, or, where it directs payment or delivery on a date or at intervals, from the default in respect of which execution is sought.
• Perpetual injunction. By the proviso, an application to enforce a decree for a perpetual injunction is not subject to any period of limitation.
• Mandatory injunction, Article 135. Three years from the date of the decree or the date fixed for performance.
• Chiranji Lal v Hari Das (2005). A final decree for partition is enforceable from the date it is passed, and the twelve years run from then, not from when it is later engrossed on stamp paper.
• No acknowledgment or part payment. Acknowledgment and part payment do not extend the time for execution, because of Explanation (c) to s.18 and Explanation (b) to s.19 (Topics 15, 16)
• Article 137. Three years from when the right to apply accrues, for any application for which no other period is provided.
• Kerala State Electricity Board v T.P. Kunhaliumma (1976). Article 137 applies to applications under any statute to a civil court, not only to applications under the CPC.
• Modern reach. Article 137 governs probate applications (Kunvarjeet Singh Khandpur, 2008), insolvency applications (B.K. Educational, 2018), petitions to enforce foreign awards (Vedanta, 2020) and applications to appoint arbitrators (Arif Azim, 2024)

4. Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a limitation for enforcing a perpetual injunction?

No. The proviso to Article 136 states that an application for the enforcement or execution of a decree granting a perpetual injunction is not subject to any period of limitation. A decree for a mandatory injunction, by contrast, must be enforced within three years under Article 135.

What is the limitation for a probate application?

Article 137 applies, giving three years from when the right to apply accrues. In Kunvarjeet Singh Khandpur v Kirandeep Kaur (2008), the Supreme Court held that the right accrues when the need to apply arises, which may be long after the testator's death.

5. Related Topics

• Topic 28: Schedule, Division I: Suits. The suit articles.
• Topic 30: Starting Point of Limitation under the Schedule. How the third column is applied.