1. The Suit must be filed within the
period prescribed under the Schedule appended to Limitation Act, 1963. The
limitation period, would depend upon the nature of Suit which is filed and the
Reliefs which are claimed in the Suit.
2. The right of a person, if he has any,
must be exercised within reasonable time, or else his said right will be
forfeited as a penalty for his neglect. Laws come to the assist of the vigilant
and not to the sleepy, so said by Salmond in his Jurisprudence.
3.
The doctrine of limitation is based
on broad consideration, in the words of Abbott, CJ, in the case of Battley
versus Faulkner, “the Statutes of limitation was intended for relief and quiet
of the defendant and to prevent persons from being harassed at a distant point
of time, after the committing of the injury complained of.” Also when the
evidence are lost by defendant with the passage of time, at the benefit of the
Plaintiff.
4. A period of three years has been
prescribed for suits relating to accounts, contracts, and declarations and
suits relating to movable properties.
5. A period varying from 1 to 3
years has been prescribed for suits relating to torts and miscellaneous maters.
6. A period of twelve years has been
prescribed for suits relating to recovery of Immovable properties, based on
previous possession.
7. And, in fact, there is no limitation
period to recover possession of an immovable property, the claim which is based
on title or any other interest. In these kind of Suits, the question of
limitation of 12 years arises only when the Defendant takes the defense of
being in possession of the concerned immovable property, for the last 12 years,
immediately preceding the date of the filing of the Suit, and the Defendant
claims that he was holding the possession of the property against the wishes
and adverse to the interest of the Plaintiffs. If the Plaintiffs maintain in
the Suit that the possession of the Defendant is permissive in nature, then, plea
of adverse possession may not be available to the Defendant, and thereby the
limitation period of 12 years as prescribed under Article 65 of Limitation Act
does not come into play.
8.
A person who claim adverse
possession has to prove that he has remained in uninterrupted possession of the
property to the knowledge of the true owner and he has, expressly or by
necessary implication, denied the title of the true owner and asserted his own
right of ownership in the property to the exclusion of the true owner. Unless the occupation / possession of
the defendant is permissive, expressly or impliedly, the occupation of the
defendant shall deemed to be detrimental or adverse to the interest of the
Plaintiffs.
9.
The extension of limitation period
Where it appears that the debt to be
recovered is time barred by reason of lapse of time, it may be checked whether
any payment was made in partial discharge of liability, the liability which is
the subject matter of the Suit. If yes, and if by cheque, the details thereof.
And if by cash, the details thereof. This part payment may extend the period of
limitation by virtue of provisions of Section 18 of Limitation Act, 1963.
When the recovery of a debt appears to
be frustrated due to lapse of time, recourse may be to sections 18 and 19 of
limitation Act, 1963, apart from other provisions of Limitation Act. Sections
59, 60 and 61 of Contract Act, 1872 are also very relevant sections; and by a
careful application of these sections, the apparently time barred debts may be
brought within limitation period.
Section 18 of Limitation
Act: An acknowledgement of liability extends the period of limitation and
starts a fresh limitation period. An acknowledgement within the meaning of this
section must have the following essential attributes –
a) The acknowledgement must be an
affirmative admission of an existing liability;
b) It must be made by the person under
the liability or by a person authorized to acknowledge;
c) The liability must be subsisting on
the date of the acknowledgement;
d) The acknowledgement need not be made
to the creditor;
e) The acknowledgement may not indicate
the precise amount of debt / liability; it is sufficient if the debtor
acknowledges that something is due or may be due;
f) The acknowledgement must be in writing
and signed;
g) The acknowledgement must be signed
either by the debtor himself or by the agent duly authorized in that behalf;
h) An acknowledgement of liability need
not be in respect of debt only; it may be in respect of any property or right
which is the subject matter of the suit;
i) An absence of denial to a demand made
does not operate as an acknowledgement;
j) An acknowledgement by an agent is a valid
acknowledgement to bind his principal;
k) Acknowledgment of liability in the
Balance Sheet is a valid acknowledgement of debt [Please see Section 138(b) of
Income Tax Act, 1961];
l) The acknowledgement need not directly
refer to the liability sought to be enforced in the suit;
m) An acknowledgement accompanied by
refusal to pay is a valid acknowledgement within the meaning of this section;
n) There may not be a promise to pay and
mere acknowledgement of debt is sufficient to constitute Acknowledgement within
the meaning of this section, thereby giving the fresh period of limitation to
the creditor.
S.
19 of Limitation Act:
Effect of payment on account of debt or of Interest on legacy
Where payment on account
of a debt or of interest on a legacy is made before the expiration of the
prescribed period by the person liable to pay the debt or legacy or by his
agent duly authorized in this behalf, a fresh period of limitation shall be
computed from the time when the payment was made:
S.22 of Limitation Act: Continuous
cause of action:
disturbance of right of worship is a continuous wrong; An infringement of Trade
mark is a continuous wrong. A trespass upon the property is a continuous wrong.
Law
of limitation only bars the remedy but does not extinguish the right. See
contract Act 1872 section 26. of Limitation Act.
10. The limitation period always starts
from the date on which the cause of action arise, and therefore, it is very
important to ascertain as on which date the cause of action arose.
11. What
is the date on which the cause of action arises: The cause of action arises on the
date on which the aggrieved has a right to move the court of law or to adopt
any legal proceedings, for redressal of his grievance, although the aggrieved
person may choose not to move the court of law or to adopt any legal
proceedings, immediately, and he may prefer to redress his / her grievance by
resorting to any other legal means, including recording / interacting with the
concerned manufacturer / supplier of goods or services who have allegedly
supplied defective goods / or have rendered deficient services, etc.
12. The period to file Suit ends according
to the applicable nature of Suit which is filed and the Reliefs which are
claimed in the Suit.
13. The applicable Article of the
Limitation Act, 1963, may be stated so as to compute the limitation period.] If
the Suit is filed beyond limitation, then, a statement showing the grounds on
which the exemption from the law of limitation is claimed [Sections 6, 7, 10,
11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23]. Please read further at link below
Sandeep Jalan
Advocate
Legal issues !!
If you are facing any of these issues like (a) Recovery of Moneys (b) Immovable property disputes (c) grievances against Municipalities & Govts., including challenge to legitimacy of laws etc. (d) grievances against illegalities and highhandedness of Police like illegal arrests, refusal to register FIR, deliberately flawed investigations, etc (e) False FIRs (f) False Claims (g) False evidences (h) Grievances against Judges (i) Illegal or perverse Orders of the Courts / Tribunals, among others.
or
If you are looking for draft of any legal proceeding; or if you want to know the nature and attribute of any legal proceeding; or if you want to know the procedure followed in any legal proceeding; or if you want to know the grounds on which any order of the court / tribunal is challenged; or if you are facing any frivolous litigation.
https://www.litigationplatform.com/
Thank you.
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