How Limitation Is Computed, Day by Day
The Schedule gives a period and a starting point, but Sections 12 to 24 of the Limitation Act, 1963 decide how those days are counted, and the counting rules rescue more cases than most litigants realise. The day on which the cause of action arises is excluded. If the last day is a court holiday, the period extends to the next working day on which the court is open. Time taken to obtain a certified copy of the order appealed against is excluded when computing the period for an appeal. Where a plaintiff has been prosecuting a proceeding in good faith in a court without jurisdiction, Section 14 permits exclusion of that time. Where a fresh suit is filed on the same cause of action after the first was dismissed for a defect that was not jurisdictional, Section 14 may still apply if the earlier proceeding was prosecuted with due diligence.
Articles Worth Knowing
| Nature of the claim | Article | Period runs from |
|---|---|---|
| Money lent under a loan | Article 19 | The date the loan is made |
| Compensation for breach of contract | Article 55 | The date of breach |
| Possession of immovable property based on title | Article 65 | When possession becomes adverse |
| Compensation for libel or slander | Article 75 | The date of publication |
| Execution of a decree | Article 136 | The date the decree becomes enforceable |
| Any suit not otherwise provided for | Article 113 | When the right to sue accrues |
Four Ways a Barred Claim Comes Back to Life
Acknowledgment under Section 18. A written and signed acknowledgment of liability, made before the period expires, starts time running afresh from the date of the acknowledgment. A WhatsApp message admitting the debt, signed in a way the court accepts as the debtor's, has been treated as such an acknowledgment. This is why a creditor should never accept a bare oral promise and why a debtor should never sign a fresh balance confirmation casually.
Part payment under Section 19. A payment on account of a debt, made before expiry and appropriated to that debt, has the same effect. The payment must be voluntary and must appear in the debtor's own hand or signature where the payment is recorded in an account.
Condonation under Section 5. Section 5 allows an appeal or an application to be admitted after the period on sufficient cause being shown. It does not apply to suits. The Supreme Court's approach has softened over time — a liberal approach is taken where the delay is explained and no prejudice is caused — but "I was busy" is not sufficient cause, and a litigant who sat on a decree for years will struggle.
A fresh cause of action. Where the breach is continuing, or where a fresh demand creates a fresh default, time may run from the later date. A continuing guarantee, an instalment loan and a monthly maintenance obligation each generate recurring causes of action, which is why the arithmetic of limitation in such cases is done instalment by instalment.
Mistakes That Extinguish Rights
- Filing a plaint on the last day without the court fee, so that the suit is treated as instituted only when the defect is cured.
- Issuing a notice and presuming that the notice stops time. It does not, unless the statute under which it is issued says so.
- Assuming an arbitration clause suspends limitation for the underlying claim; the claim can still become time-barred while negotiation continues.
- Treating a rejection of an application as a decree, and filing an appeal instead of the application the statute requires.
- Overlooking that limitation is a mixed question of fact and law, and a defendant who does not plead it at the earliest stage may lose the advantage.
Short Answers
Can parties agree to a longer limitation period? No. Section 28 of the Act voids an agreement that curtails the period, and one that extends it.
Does an arbitration clause stop time running? No. Limitation runs while negotiations proceed, and a reference after the period is vulnerable.
Will a court raise limitation on its own? Normally it is a defence that must be pleaded, but where the plaint itself shows the claim is barred, the suit can be rejected at the threshold.
Where a claim is close to expiry, the practical step is to file and then seek time to complete pleadings, rather than to negotiate further. For a limitation review of a specific claim, use the contact page.