Is The Condonation of Delay Under the Limitation Act Is Wrong?

Is The Condonation of Delay Under the Limitation Act Is Wrong?

A suit has to be filed before the court within the prescribed period for the kind of case it is. Any delay in filing is not entertained by the court unless it is supported by a sufficient cause for such delay in filing.

What is the law of limitation?

The law of limitation specifies the time within which an aggrieved person can approach the Court for redressal or justice by filing a suit or an appeal.

If the suit or appeal is filed beyond the time, it is prevented by the law of limitation for protecting the long and established used to indirectly prevents the persons who are lazy enough to protect their own rights.

The Limitation Act 1963 says that the citizen is not expected to have knowledge about all the provisions available to him, but basic knowledge is required to possess.

What does the limitation period mean?

The law prescribes different periods within which a person who has a grievance should go to court. For example, if somebody has borrowed money and not returned it, the lender should approach the court within three years from the date the lender lent the money. If the lender doesn't go to court within that time, the courts will not be of help to recover the money. This is called the limitation period. After the limitation period, the lender cannot enforce his rights in court. The Limitation Act 1963 prescribes different limitation periods for different kinds of claims.

What is the condonation of delay under the Limitation Act 1963?

The Limitation Act 1963 is the legislative provision that specified the time limit within which a suit is supposedly instituted or an appeal, review or other remedies, that are eligible to be filed.

As per Sec 2(j) of the Act, the "period of limitation" is the time prescribed by the schedule to institute any suit, appeal or application. Schedule 1 of the Act prescribes:

• 3 years' time period for a suit relating to accounts, contracts, suits relating to movable property, recovery of a lawsuit under a contract, etc.

• 12 years' time period for suits relating to possession of the immovable property, and 30 years' time period for suits relating to the mortgaged property.

• One year for suit relating to torts (3 years for compensation in certain cases). 30 to 90 days in case of appeals under the Civil Procedure Code and Criminal Procedure Code.

The term condonation of delay is specified in Sec. 5 of the Limitation Act which prescribed the extension that is allowed over the prescribed period subject to certain conditions involved in the matter. Any appeal or application can be brought even after the expiration of the prescribed time period for the case, the applicant must have a valid reason for such delay. The acceptance of the application or appeal is subject to the satisfaction of the Court.

What is considered as the sufficient cause?

The sufficient cause does not have a specific definition, it is totally on the discretionary power of the Court. Any reason, that is considered to be sufficient that is just and adequate proving the fact that the reason does not intend to prolong the judicial proceeding.

What are the exceptions of Condonation to delay?

Certain conditions which do not allow the matter to take the advantage of the condonation of delay specified under Sec. 5 of the Act, are:

• The doctrine of condonation of delay is allowed only in the matter of criminal proceedings.

• The doctrine is applicable only in case of an application or appeal, not in case of a suit.

• Except for the applications under the provision of Order XXI of the Code of Civil Procedure, the doctrine is applicable everywhere.

Does the condonation of delay have a disadvantage?

The law of limitation and condonation of delay keeps a balance between the rights of the applicant and the rights acquired by the other party for such delay. For example, a woman who was subject to domestic violence brings the matter to the Court after a year of leaving her in-law's house. She may have a number of reasons for such delays, such as a threat to her life or her family, or she was under a total mental shock that she required time to recover under medical treatment.

In this situation, if she is not allowed to file the case, even the prescribed time is over, that will be an injustice to her.

The law of limitation under the Limitation Act 1963 is an effective tool for litigation and for quick disposal of matters, ensuring the case is filed within the prescribed period so as to avoid unnecessary delays. Whereas, the condonation of delay justifies the late filing of some cases which are in support of sufficient causes.