Extension of the period of Limitation: A welcome move by the Supreme Court

Hon’ble Supreme Court after taking judicial notice of surge in COVID cases due to Omicron, restores its earlier order extending the period of limitation on 10 January 2022.

Key highlights of the Supreme Court order is as under:

1. The Periods from 15 March 2020 to 28 February 2022 will be excluded while computing the computing period of limitation.

2. If the limitation period would have expired between 15 March 2020 to 28 February 2022, then a fresh period of 90 days would be available from 01 March 2022 i.e. in such case, New limitation period will be 29 May 2022..

The copy of the order is as under:

 

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATION NO. 21 OF 2022 IN

MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATION NO. 665 OF 2021 IN

SUO MOTU WRIT PETITION (C) NO. 3 OF 2020 

IN RE: COGNIZANCE FOR EXTENSION OF LIMITATION

WITH

MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATION NO.29 OF 2022 IN

MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATION NO. 665 OF 2021

IN

SUO MOTU WRIT PETITION (C) NO. 3 OF 2020

Order

 

1. In March, 2020, this Court took Suo Motu cognizance of the difficulties that might be faced by the litigants in filing petitions/ applications/ suits/ appeals/ all other quasi proceedings within the period  of  limitation  prescribed  under  the  general  law  of limitation or under any special laws (both Central  and/or  State) due to the outbreak of the COVID­19 pandemic.

2. On 03.2020, this Court directed extension of the period of limitation in all proceedings before Courts/Tribunals including this Court w.e.f. 15.03.2020 till further orders. On 08.03.2021, the order dated 23.03.2020 was brought to an end, permitting the relaxation of period of limitation between 15.03.2020 and 14.03.2021. While doing so, it was made clear that the period of limitation would start from 15.03.2021.

3. Thereafter, due to a second surge in COVID­19 cases, the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association (SCAORA) intervened in the Suo Motu proceedings by filing Miscellaneous Application 665 of 2021 seeking restoration of the order dated 23.03.2020 relaxing limitation. The aforesaid Miscellaneous Application No.665 of 2021 was disposed of by this Court vide Order dated 23.09.2021, wherein this Court extended the period of limitation in all proceedings before the Courts/Tribunals including this Court w.e.f 15.03.2020 till 02.10.2021.

4. The present Miscellaneous Application has been filed by the Supreme Court  Advocates­on­Record  Association  in  the  context of the spread of the new variant of the COVID­19 and the drastic surge in the number of COVID cases across the

Considering the prevailing conditions, the applicants are seeking the following:

i. allow the present application by restoring the order dated 23.03.2020 passed by this Hon’ble Court in Suo Motu Writ Petition (C) 3 of 2020 ; and

ii.allow the present application by restoring the order dated 27.04.2021 passed by this Hon’ble Court in M.A. 665 of 2021 in Suo Motu Writ Petition (C) NO. 3 of 2020; and

iii. pass such other order or orders as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and

5. Taking into consideration the arguments advanced by learned counsel and the impact of the surge of the  virus on public health and adversities faced by litigants in the prevailing conditions, we deem it appropriate to dispose of  the  A.  No.  21  of  2022  with the following directions:

The order dated 23.03.2020 is restored and in continuation of the subsequent orders dated 03.2021, 27.04.2021 and 23.09.2021, it is directed that the period from 15.03.2020 till 28.02.2022 shall stand excluded for the purposes of limitation as may be prescribed under any general or special laws in respect of all judicial or quasi­ judicial proceedings.

i. Consequently, the balance period of limitation remaining as on 03.10.2021, if any, shall become available with effect from 03.2022.

ii. In cases where the limitation would have expired during the period between 03.2020 till 28.02.2022, notwithstanding the actual balance period of limitation remaining, all persons shall have a limitation period of 90 days from 01.03.2022. In the event the actual balance period of limitation remaining, with effect from 01.03.2022 is greater than 90 days, that longer period shall apply.

iii. It is further clarified that the period from 15.03.2020 till 02.2022 shall also stand excluded in computing the periods prescribed under Sections 23 (4) and 29A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 and provisos (b) and (c) of Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 and any other laws, which prescribe period(s) of limitation for instituting proceedings, outer limits (within which the court or tribunal can condone delay) and termination of proceedings.

6. As prayed for by learned Senior Counsel, A. No. 29 of 2022 is dismissed as withdrawn.

…………………….……CJI.

(N.V. RAMANA)

……………………….……J.

( L. NAGESWARA RAO)

……………………….……J.

(SURYA KANT)

New Delhi

January 10, 2022

ITEM NO.301    Court 1 (Video Conferencing)         SECTION PIL­W

S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

Miscellaneous       Application        No.21/2022        in       MA       665/2021    in     SMW      (C) No.3/2020

 

IN RE: COGNIZANCE FOR EXTENSION OF LIMITATION

 

(FOR ADMISSION and IA No.1935/2022­APPLICATION UNDER SECTION LV RULE 6 OF THE SUPREME COURT RULES, 2013)

 

WITH

MA 29/2022 in MA 665/2021 in SMW(C) No. 3/2020 (PIL­W)

(FOR ADMISSION and IA No.3161/2022­APPLICATION UNDER SECTION LV RULE 6 OF THE SUPREME COURT RULES, 2013 and IA No.3444/2022­ APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION)

Date : 10­01­2022 These matters were called on for hearing today.

CORAM :

HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE

HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE L. NAGESWARA RAO

HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SURYA KANT

 

For	Petitioner(s)	Mr.	Shivaji M. Jadhav, Adv.
		Ms. Dr. Ms. Mr. Mr. Dr. Ms. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr.	Manoj K. Mishra, Adv. Joseph Aristotle S., Adv. Diksha Rai, Adv. Nikhil Jain, Adv. Atulesh Kumar, Adv. Aman M. Hingorani, Adv. Anzu Varkey, Adv. Aljo Joseph, Adv. Sachin Sharma, Adv. Varinder K. Sharma, Adv. Abhinav Ramkrishna, AOR
For	Respondent(s)	Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr.   Mr. Mr.	Neeraj Kishan Kaul, Sr. Adv. Himanshu Chaubey, AOR Prem Dave, Adv. Raghav Agrawal, Adv. Toshiv Goyal, Adv. K.K. Venugopal, AG Tushar Mehta, SG

Mr. Rajat Nair, Adv. Mr.

Kanu Agrawal, Adv.

Mr. Siddhant Kohli, Adv.

Mr. Chinmayee Chandra, Adv.

Mr. Arvind Kumar Sharma, AOR 

Ms. Uttara Babbar, AOR

Mr. Manan Bansal, Adv.

 

Mr. Arjun Garg, AOR

Mr. Aakash Nandolia, Adv.

Ms. Sagun Srivastava, Adv.

Ms. Sunieta Ojha, AOR

Mr. P. I. Jose, AOR

Mr. Jenis V. Frensis, Adv.

Mr. Prashant K. Sharma, Adv.

Ms. Anindita Mitra, AOR

Mr. Sahil Tagotra, AOR

Mr. Subhro Mukherjee, Adv.

Mr. Amit Sharma, AOR

Mr. Sameer Parekh, Adv.

Mr. Kshatrashal Raj, Adv.

Ms. Tanya Chaudhry, Adv.

Ms. Pratyusha Priyadarshini, Adv.

Ms. Nitika Pandey, Adv.

For M/s.Parekh & Co., AOR

M/S. VKC Law Offices, AOR

Mr. Vinod Sharma, AOR

Mr. Mukesh K. Giri, AOR

Mr. Kunal Chatterji, AOR

Ms. Maitrayee Banerjee, Adv.

Mr. Rohit Bansal, Adv.

 

Ms. Pratibha Jain, AOR

 

Sh. Soumya Chakraborty, Sr. Adv.

Mr. Sanjai Kumar Pathak, AOR

Ms. Shashi Pathak, Adv.

Mr. Divyakant Lahoti, AOR

Mr. Parikshit Ahuja, Adv.

Ms. Praveena Bisht, Adv.

Ms. Madhur Jhavar, Adv.

Ms. Vindhya Mehra, Adv.

Mr. Kartik Lahoti, Adv.

Mr. Rahul Maheshwari, Adv.

Ms. Shivangi Malhotra, Adv.

 

Mr. Tapesh Kumar Singh, AOR

Mr. Aditya Pratap Singh, Adv.

Mr. Aditya Narayan Das, Adv.

 

Ms. Binu Tamta, Adv.

Mr. Dhruv Tamta, Adv.

 

Mr. Siddhesh Kotwal, Adv.

Ms. Ana Upadhyay, Adv.

Ms. Manya Hasija, Adv.

Ms. Pragya Barsaiyan, Adv.

Mr. Akash Singh, Adv.

Ms. Taruna Ardhendumauli Prasad, AOR

Mr. Sibo Sankar Mishra, AOR

Mr. Niranjan Sahu, Adv.

 

Mr. Abhimanyu Tewari, Adv.

Ms. Eliza Bar, Adv.

 

Mr. Avijit Mani Tripathi, AOR

Mr. T.K. Nayak, Adv.

 

UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following

O R D E R

 

The Court is convened through Video Conferencing.

 

M.A. No.21 of 2022 is disposed of and M.A. No.29/2022 is dismissed as withdrawn, in terms of the signed Order.

 

 

(VISHAL ANAND)                                (R.S. NARAYANAN)

ASTT. REGISTRAR­cum­PS                         COURT MASTER (NSH)

(Signed Order is placed on the file)