Limitation Act Hub / First Division, Part VII - Torts
Limitation Act, 1963 - Professional Corpus - Batch 06
First Division, Part VII - Torts
Short one- and two-year periods coexist with three-year tort articles; classify the civil wrong before computing.
Statutory source control. The local text below is a professional transcription and article map aligned to the current India Code architecture and listed amendments. The signed Gazette/current official source controls punctuation, footnotes, State variations and event-date application.
Dedicated Finin2min Summary - Chapter in 2 Minutes
- Short one- and two-year periods coexist with three-year tort articles; classify the civil wrong before computing.
- The first column classifies the proceeding, the second sets the period and the third fixes the starting point.
- Sections 4-24 can alter computation only when legally available.
- A special/local statute may replace the Schedule period or exclude general provisions.
Current statutory text / controlled source extract
Section-by-section / article-by-article provision map
| Provision | Subject | Status / period | Finin2min clause-by-clause decode | Implementation | Evidence/control |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Article 72 | Act or omission alleged under an enactment | 1 year | Act or omission | Article 72: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 73 | False imprisonment | 1 year | Imprisonment ends | Article 73: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 74 | Malicious prosecution | 1 year | Acquittal or termination | Article 74: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 75 | Libel | 1 year | Publication | Article 75: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 76 | Slander | 1 year | Words spoken or special damage | Article 76: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 77 | Loss of service from seduction of servant or daughter | 1 year | Loss occurs | Article 77: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 78 | Inducing breach of contract | 1 year | Date of breach | Article 78: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 79 | Illegal, irregular or excessive distress | 1 year | Date of distress | Article 79: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 80 | Wrongful seizure of movable property under legal process | 1 year | Date of seizure | Article 80: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 81 | Representative suit under Legal Representatives Suits Act | 1 year | Death of person wronged | Article 81: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 82 | Fatal Accidents Act representative suit | 2 years | Date of death | Article 82: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 83 | Legal Representatives Suits Act claim against representative | 2 years | Wrong complained of | Article 83: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 84 | Perverting property from authorised purpose | 2 years | Perversion becomes known | Article 84: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 85 | Obstructing way or watercourse | 3 years | Date of obstruction | Article 85: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 86 | Diverting watercourse | 3 years | Date of diversion | Article 86: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 87 | Trespass on immovable property | 3 years | Date of trespass | Article 87: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 88 | Copyright or exclusive privilege infringement | 3 years | Date of infringement | Article 88: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 89 | Restrain waste | 3 years | When waste begins | Article 89: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 90 | Injury from wrongfully obtained injunction | 3 years | When injunction ceases | Article 90: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 91 | Wrongfully taking, injuring or detaining movable property | 3 years | Knowledge of possessor or wrongful taking/injury/unlawful detention, by clause | Article 91: match the exact claim description, period and third-column trigger; near-similar commercial facts can fall under different articles. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
Finin2min implementation explanation
Classification
Determine whether the matter is a suit, appeal, application, execution, arbitration claim or special-statute proceeding. Record relief, forum and event date.
Computation
Select the exact article or special-law period. Record the third-column trigger, first-day exclusion, calendar period and each legally available adjustment.
Control owner
Legal owns statutory classification; business/finance owns transaction dates; secretarial/HR/property teams supply authority and evidence; counsel confirms forum filing.
Change control
Recalculate after any amendment, acknowledgment, payment, order, stay, certified-copy event or forum change. Preserve the superseded computation.
Practical examples and calculations
Chapter-specific scenario.
Two claims arise from the same transaction but seek different reliefs. The team selects separate Schedule articles and trigger dates rather than using one generic invoice date.
| Calculation step | Method | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Base trigger | Record the exact statutory third-column or special-law event date. | Contract/order/notice/service/knowledge evidence |
| First day | Exclude the day from which the period is reckoned under section 12(1). | Calendar worksheet |
| Period | Add the prescribed days, months or years using the Gregorian calendar. | Date calculation and assumptions |
| Adjustments | Apply only proven exclusions, disability, fraud, acknowledgment/payment or court-closure rules. | Orders, copy records, signed documents, bank proof |
| Final cut-off | State last filing day, forum hours/e-filing rule and any condonation range. | Court calendar, portal receipt and legal sign-off |
Practical transaction application
- Open the chronology when the first default, refusal, knowledge event, dispossession, order or enforceability event occurs.
- Classify every proposed relief separately and select the governing special statute and Schedule article.
- Record authority, service, contractual cure periods, statutory notice, copy time, stay and prior proceedings.
- Test acknowledgment, part-payment, fraud, disability and continuing-wrong claims against their exact statutory conditions.
- Approve the last filing date, fallback forum, condonation position and evidence pack before action.
Authority, consent and execution controls
- Confirm claimant/applicant legal capacity and representative authority.
- Obtain board, partner, trustee, government or power-of-attorney approvals.
- Authorise acknowledgments, settlements and admissions carefully because they affect limitation.
- Check counsel authority and affidavit/verification requirements.
Stamp duty and registration alerts
- Limitation does not cure an unstamped or unregistered instrument.
- Assess State stamp duty and registration separately for the underlying contract, deed, mortgage, lease, release or settlement.
- Preserve original instrument and adjudication/impounding record.
- Do not assume an electronic record avoids stamp or registration law.
Evidence and document-retention checklist
- Executed instrument and amendments.
- Trigger-date correspondence and service proof.
- Invoices, delivery, acceptance, account and bank records.
- Court/tribunal orders and certified-copy records.
- Acknowledgment and authority evidence.
- Chronology and independent calculation.
- Special-law text and amendment snapshot.
- Filing receipt, diary number and portal timestamp.
Performance, delivery and payment controls
- Map each obligation, milestone, due date and cure period.
- Separate invoice date, payment due date, acceptance, breach and termination.
- Track recurring instalments and successive breaches individually.
- Record mitigation and substitute performance without assuming a new limitation period.
Breach, loss, mitigation and remedy framework
- Identify suit, appeal, application, arbitration, execution or public-law remedy.
- Quantify principal, interest, damages, restitution and costs separately.
- Do not allow negotiations or a legal notice to revive a barred right unless statute permits.
- Evaluate settlement, acknowledgment and standstill language for unintended consequences.
Limitation and forum controls
- Confirm territorial, pecuniary and subject-matter jurisdiction.
- Apply special-law period and express exclusion before the general Schedule.
- Record appeal/review/revision and condonation limits separately.
- For arbitration, separate claim limitation from court-application limitation.
Arbitration and mediation interface
Arbitration does not create a new substantive limitation period for a barred claim. Separately compute the underlying claim, arbitration commencement, section 11 application, interim relief, award challenge and enforcement. For mediation and PIMS, identify the statutory exclusion period and preserve application, service, closure and settlement records.
Company, partnership, GST and tax overlays
- Companies Act and LLP authority/records.
- Partnership agency and joint liability.
- GST invoice, credit-note and tax evidence.
- Income-tax write-off, recovery and settlement treatment.
- IBC default and acknowledgment interface.
- Arbitration, Commercial Courts, MSME, consumer and RERA special periods.
Finin2min Q&A
How is the correct article selected?
Classify the actual relief and legal relationship, then rule out specific articles before using a residuary article.
Does a demand notice always start limitation?
No. Some articles run from loan, delivery, breach, refusal, knowledge or enforceability irrespective of a later demand.
Can section 5 extend a suit article?
No general section 5 condonation applies to suits.
Chapter-specific decision flowchart
