Limitation Act Hub / Third Division - Applications
Limitation Act, 1963 - Professional Corpus - Batch 06
Third Division - Applications
Applications range from ten days to twelve years; Article 137 is residuary and begins when the right to apply accrues.
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
- Applications range from ten days to twelve years; Article 137 is residuary and begins when the right to apply accrues.
- 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 118 | Leave to appear and defend summary suit | 10 days | Service of summons | Article 118: 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 119 | Legacy Arbitration Act 1940 award filing or setting-aside application | 30 days | Service of notice of making or filing award, by clause | Legacy code reference: overlay current BNSS/CrPC, Arbitration Act and special-statute transition before relying on the printed Schedule. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 120 | Add legal representative of deceased party under CPC | 90 days | Date of death | Article 120: 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 121 | Set aside abatement under CPC | 60 days | Date of abatement | Article 121: 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 122 | Restore suit/appeal/review/revision dismissed for default | 30 days | Date of dismissal | Article 122: 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 123 | Set aside ex parte decree or rehear ex parte appeal | 30 days | Decree date, or knowledge where service was not due | Article 123: 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 124 | Review by court other than Supreme Court | 30 days | Date of decree or order | Article 124: 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 125 | Record adjustment or satisfaction of decree | 30 days | Payment or adjustment | Article 125: 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 126 | Payment of decree by instalments | 30 days | Date of decree | Article 126: 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 127 | Set aside execution sale | 60 days | Date of sale | Article 127: 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 128 | Dispossessed person disputing decree-holder/purchaser right | 30 days | Date of dispossession | Article 128: 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 129 | Possession after removing resistance/obstruction in execution | 30 days | Date of resistance or obstruction | Article 129: 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 130 | Leave to appeal as indigent person | 60/30 days | Date of decree, by forum | Article 130: 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 131 | Exercise of revision powers under procedural codes | 90 days | Decree, order or sentence sought to be revised | Legacy code reference: overlay current BNSS/CrPC, Arbitration Act and special-statute transition before relying on the printed Schedule. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 132 | High Court certificate of fitness for Supreme Court appeal | 60 days | Date of order or sentence | Article 132: 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 133 | Special leave to appeal to Supreme Court | 60/60/90 days | Judgment/order/sentence or refusal date, by clause | Article 133: 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 134 | Delivery of possession to execution-sale purchaser | 1 year | When sale becomes absolute | Article 134: 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 135 | Enforcement of decree granting mandatory injunction | 3 years | Decree date or fixed performance date | Article 135: 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 136 | Execution of other civil decree or order | 12 years | When enforceable or relevant default; perpetual injunction has no period | Execution generally runs for twelve years from enforceability or relevant default; perpetual injunction execution is uncapped by this article. | Preserve the instrument, event date and article-selection memorandum. |
| Article 137 | Any other application not elsewhere provided | 3 years | When right to apply accrues | Residuary application: identify when the enforceable right to apply first arose under the governing statute. | 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.
A statutory application has no specific article. The lawyer identifies the first date an enforceable right to apply arose, checks the special law and computes three years under Article 137.
| 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
