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Litigation / Limitation period finder

Every claim has a clock.
Most people misread when it starts.

Limitation is the law's filing deadline: the Limitation Act, 1963 prescribes, for every suit, appeal and application, a period after which the court must dismiss it — even if the other side never objects. The Schedule states each period in three columns, and the third column, the time from which the period begins to run, is where cases are won and lost.

A loan “payable on demand” runs from the day it was made, not from your demand. A deposit runs from the demand. Goods sold run from delivery, not the invoice. Search the Schedule below — every row is quoted from the bare Act, with the starting point beside the period.

At a glance
68limitation periods
quoted from the bare Acts, three columns each
  • 64 Schedule articles — 48 suits, 4 appeals, 12 applications
  • 4 deadlines from other statutes — arbitration, cheque bounce, IBC, consumer
  • Period + the starting-point column for every entry
  • s.5 / s.12 / s.18-19 / disability rules, quoted in full below
Last reviewed: 2026-08-19 · sourced from India Code bare-Act PDFs · runs in your browser, nothing uploaded

This is a reference to the statutory text, not advice on a live matter. Limitation is brutally fact-sensitive — when the cause of action accrued, whether an acknowledgment or part-payment reset the clock, and which exclusions under ss.4-15 apply all turn on your specific facts. This page is a reference to the statutory text, not advice on a live matter, and it does not create an advocate-client relationship. A single day's error can be fatal to a claim: s.5 condonation never applies to suits, and several special-statute deadlines (Arbitration s.34(3), IBC s.61(2)) are hard ceilings no court can extend. Verify every period against the bare Act as currently amended and against current case law, and take advice on your own facts before acting. Provisions here were reviewed on 19 August 2026.

68 of 68 periods

Entries marked Other statute are not Limitation Act Schedule articles — those deadlines live in the Arbitration Act, the NI Act, the IBC and the Consumer Protection Act, each with its own condonation rules.

What the claim isPeriodStarts from (the column that decides)ArticleDivisionDetail
Balance on a mutual, open and current account
Money recovery
Three years.The close of the year in which the last item admitted or proved is entered in the account; such year to be computed as in the account.Art. 1SuitsOpen →
Accounts of a dissolved partnership
Contract
Three years.The date of the dissolution.Art. 5SuitsOpen →
Unpaid wages
Money recovery
Three years.When the wages accrue due.Art. 7SuitsOpen →
Price of goods sold — no credit period agreed
Money recovery
Three years.The date of the delivery of the goods.Art. 14SuitsOpen →
Price of goods sold — fixed credit period
Money recovery
Three years.When the period of credit expires.Art. 15SuitsOpen →
Price of work done
Money recovery
Three years.When the work is done.Art. 18SuitsOpen →
Recovery of money lent
Money recovery
Three years.When the loan is made.Art. 19SuitsOpen →
Money lent payable on demand
Money recovery
Three years.When the loan is made.Art. 21SuitsOpen →
Money deposited payable on demand
Money recovery
Three years.When the demand is made.Art. 22SuitsOpen →
Money had and received
Money recovery
Three years.When the money is received.Art. 24SuitsOpen →
Interest due
Money recovery
Three years.When the interest becomes due.Art. 25SuitsOpen →
Accounts stated
Money recovery
Three years.When the accounts are stated in writing signed by the defendant or his agent duly authorised in this behalf, unless where the debt is, by a simultaneous agreement in writing signed as aforesaid, made payable at a future time, and then when that time arrives.Art. 26SuitsOpen →
Bill or note payable at a fixed time
Money recovery
Three years.When the bill or note falls due.Art. 31SuitsOpen →
Promissory note payable on demand
Money recovery
Three years.The date of the bill or note.Art. 35SuitsOpen →
Instalment note with acceleration clause
Money recovery
Three years.When the default is made, unless where the payee or obligee waives the benefit of the provision and then when fresh default is made in respect of which there is no such waiver.Art. 37SuitsOpen →
Surety against the principal debtor
Money recovery
Three years.When the surety pays the creditor.Art. 42SuitsOpen →
Suit on an insurance policy
Contract
Three years.(a) The date of the death of the deceased, or where the claim on the policy is denied, either partly or wholly, the date of such denial; (b) The date of the occurrence causing the loss, or where the claim on the policy is denied, either partly or wholly, the date of such denial.Art. 44SuitsOpen →
Refund on failure of consideration
Money recovery
Three years.The date of the failure.Art. 47SuitsOpen →
Mesne profits wrongfully received
Property
Three years.When the profits are received.Art. 51SuitsOpen →
Arrears of rent
Money recovery
Three years.When the arrears become due.Art. 52SuitsOpen →
Specific performance of a contract
Contract
Three years.The date fixed for the performance, or, if no such date is fixed, when the plaintiff has notice that performance is refused.Art. 54SuitsOpen →
Breach of contract (residuary)
Contract
Three years.When the contract is broken or (where there are successive breaches) when the breach in respect of which the suit is instituted occurs or (where the breach is continuing) when it ceases.Art. 55SuitsOpen →
Declaration that an adoption is invalid
Family
Three years.When the alleged adoption becomes known to the plaintiff.Art. 57SuitsOpen →
Declaration of title, or any other declaration
Property
Three years.When the right to sue first accrues.Art. 58SuitsOpen →
Cancellation of an instrument, or rescission
Contract
Three years.When the facts entitling the plaintiff to have the instrument or decree cancelled or set aside or the contract rescinded first become known to him.Art. 59SuitsOpen →
Mortgage redemption
Mortgage
(a) Thirty years; (b) Twelve years; (c) Three years.(a) When the right to redeem or to recover possession accrues; (b) When the transfer becomes known to the plaintiff; (c) When the mortgagor re-enters on the mortgaged property.Art. 61SuitsOpen →
Enforcing mortgage money
Mortgage
Twelve years.When the money sued for becomes due.Art. 62SuitsOpen →
Mortgagee's foreclosure or possession
Mortgage
(a) Thirty years; (b) Twelve years.(a) When the money secured by the mortgage becomes due; (b) When the mortgagee becomes entitled to possession.Art. 63SuitsOpen →
Possession based on prior possession
Property
Twelve years.The date of dispossession.Art. 64SuitsOpen →
Possession based on title (adverse possession)
Property
Twelve years.When the possession of the defendant becomes adverse to the plaintiff.Art. 65SuitsOpen →
Landlord recovering possession from a tenant
Property
Twelve years.When the tenancy is determined.Art. 67SuitsOpen →
Act done under a statute
Tort
One year.When the act or omission takes place.Art. 72SuitsOpen →
False imprisonment
Tort
One year.When the imprisonment ends.Art. 73SuitsOpen →
Malicious prosecution
Tort
One year.When the plaintiff is acquitted or the prosecution is otherwise terminated.Art. 74SuitsOpen →
Defamation — libel
Tort
One year.When the libel is published.Art. 75SuitsOpen →
Defamation — slander
Tort
One year.When the words are spoken, or, if the words are not actionable in themselves, when the special damage complained of results.Art. 76SuitsOpen →
Fatal accident claim
Tort
Two years.The date of the death of the person killed.Art. 82SuitsOpen →
Trespass to immovable property
Tort
Three years.The date of the trespass.Art. 87SuitsOpen →
Copyright infringement compensation
Tort
Three years.The date of the infringement.Art. 88SuitsOpen →
Wrongful detention of movables
Tort
Three years.(a) When the person having the right to the possession of the property first learns in whose possession it is; (b) When the property is wrongfully taken or injured, or when the detainer's possession becomes unlawful.Art. 91SuitsOpen →
Right of pre-emption
Property
One year.When the purchaser take[s] under the sale sought to be impeached, physical possession of the whole or part of the property sold, or, where the subject matter of the sale does not admit of physical possession of the whole or part of the property, when the instrument of sale is registered.Art. 97SuitsOpen →
Suit on a judgment (including a foreign judgment)
Other
Three years.The date of the judgment or recognisance.Art. 101SuitsOpen →
Hindu maintenance arrears
Family
Three years.When the arrears are payable.Art. 105SuitsOpen →
Legacy or intestate share
Succession
Twelve years.When the legacy or share becomes payable or deliverable.Art. 106SuitsOpen →
Setting aside a father's alienation (Mitakshara)
Family
Twelve years.When the alienee takes possession of the property.Art. 109SuitsOpen →
Share in joint family property (partition after exclusion)
Family
Twelve years.When the exclusion becomes known to the plaintiff.Art. 110SuitsOpen →
Suits by the Government
Other
Thirty years.When the period of limitation would begin to run under this Act against a like suit by a private person.Art. 112SuitsOpen →
Residuary suit (any suit with no named article)
Other
Three years.When the right to sue accrues.Art. 113SuitsOpen →
Appeal from acquittal
Appeals & revisions
(a) Ninety days; (b) Thirty days.(a) The date of the order appealed from; (b) The date of the grant of special leave.Art. 114AppealsOpen →
Criminal appeals
Appeals & revisions
(a) Thirty days; (b)(i) Sixty days; (b)(ii) Thirty days.(a) The date of the sentence; (b) The date of the sentence or order.Art. 115AppealsOpen →
Civil appeals
Appeals & revisions
(a) Ninety days; (b) Thirty days.The date of the decree or order.Art. 116AppealsOpen →
Intra-High-Court appeal
Appeals & revisions
Thirty days.The date of the decree or order.Art. 117AppealsOpen →
Leave to defend a summary suit
Other
Ten days.When the summons is served.Art. 118ApplicationsOpen →
Bringing a legal representative on record
Other
Ninety days.The date of death of the plaintiff, appellant, defendant or respondent, as the case may be.Art. 120ApplicationsOpen →
Setting aside an abatement
Other
Sixty days.The date of abatement.Art. 121ApplicationsOpen →
Restoring a case dismissed for default
Other
Thirty days.The date of dismissal.Art. 122ApplicationsOpen →
Setting aside an ex parte decree
Other
Thirty days.The date of the decree or where the summons or notice was not duly served, when the applicant had knowledge of the decree.Art. 123ApplicationsOpen →
Review of judgment
Other
Thirty days.The date of the decree or order.Art. 124ApplicationsOpen →
Setting aside an execution sale
Execution
Sixty days.The date of the sale.Art. 127ApplicationsOpen →
Civil / criminal revision
Appeals & revisions
Ninety days.The date of the decree or order or sentence sought to be revised.Art. 131ApplicationsOpen →
Special leave petition (Supreme Court)
Appeals & revisions
(a) Sixty days; (b) Sixty days; (c) Ninety days.(a) The date of the judgment[,] final order or sentence; (b) The date of the order of refusal; (c) The date of the judgment or order.Art. 133ApplicationsOpen →
Enforcing a mandatory-injunction decree
Execution
Three years.The date of the decree or where a date is fixed for performance, such date.Art. 135ApplicationsOpen →
Execution of a decree
Execution
Twelve years.When the decree or order becomes enforceable or where the decree or any subsequent order directs any payment of money or the delivery of any property to be made at a certain date or at recurring periods, when default in making the payment or delivery in respect of which execution is sought, takes place: Provided that an application for the enforcement or execution of a decree granting a perpetual injunction shall not be subject to any period of limitation.Art. 136ApplicationsOpen →
Residuary application (any application with no named article)
Other
Three years.When the right to apply accrues.Art. 137ApplicationsOpen →
Setting aside an arbitral award
Arbitration
Three months; condonable by a maximum further period of thirty days on sufficient cause, 'but not thereafter'.The date on which the party making the application had received the arbitral award or, if a request had been made under section 33 (correction/interpretation/additional award), from the date on which that request had been disposed of by the arbitral tribunal.A&C Act s.34(3)Other statuteOpen →
Cheque bounce complaint (s.138 NI Act)
Money recovery
Chained deadlines: presentation within the cheque's validity (or six months, whichever is earlier); written demand notice within thirty days of the bank's return memo; drawer's fifteen-day payment window; complaint within ONE MONTH of the cause of action arising — the delay in filing the complaint being condonable for sufficient cause.Notice clock: 'the receipt of information by him from the bank regarding the return of the cheque as unpaid'. Cause of action for the complaint: the drawer's failure to pay 'within fifteen days of the receipt of the said notice' — the complaint must follow 'within one month of the date on which the cause of action arises under clause (c)'.NI Act ss.138/142Other statuteOpen →
IBC appeal to the NCLAT
Appeals & revisions
Thirty days; condonable for sufficient cause by a further period 'not [to] exceed fifteen days' — a hard 45-day outer cap.The statute fixes no express trigger in s.61(2); the appeal lies against 'the order of the Adjudicating Authority' (s.61(1)). The Supreme Court (V. Nagarajan, 2021) holds time runs from pronouncement of the NCLT order, not from receipt of a certified copy — though s.12(2) Limitation Act copy-time exclusion applies if a copy was applied for.IBC s.61(2)Other statuteOpen →
Consumer complaint
Other
Two years; delay condonable on sufficient cause, with the Commission required to record its reasons for condoning.'the date on which the cause of action has arisen' — e.g. the deficiency in service, the defect surfacing, or the repudiation of a claim, as the case may be.CPA 2019 s.69Other statuteOpen →
Sections 4-20 of the Act

What can change the clock

The Schedule sets the period; the body of the Act decides how it is counted, what pauses it, what restarts it — and, critically, what can never be excused. Each block below quotes the section from the bare Act.

Condonation of delay — never for suits

Section 5

Section 5 never applies to suits. A time-barred suit must be dismissed under s.3 even if the defendant never pleads limitation — and Order XXI execution applications are expressly excluded too.

Section 5 (quoted from the fetched bare Act): 'Any appeal or any application, other than an application under any of the provisions of Order XXI of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), may be admitted after the prescribed period if the appellant or the applicant satisfies the court that he had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal or making the application within such period.' What it covers: appeals and applications only, on 'sufficient cause'; the Explanation adds that being 'misled by any order, practice or judgment of the High Court in ascertaining or computing the prescribed period may be sufficient cause'. What it does NOT cover: (1) SUITS — s.5 by its terms applies only to appeals and applications, so a time-barred suit must be dismissed under s.3 'although limitation has not been set up as a defence'; (2) applications under Order XXI CPC (execution) — expressly excluded, so a late execution application under Article 136 or a late application to set aside an execution sale under Article 127 cannot be condoned; (3) special laws that exclude it expressly or by scheme (s.29(2)) — e.g. Arbitration Act s.34(3)'s 'but not thereafter' and IBC s.61(2)'s 15-day cap operate as hard ceilings.

Time the computation excludes

Sections 12, 4, 14, 15, 17, 9

Section 12 (quoted): '(1) In computing the period of limitation for any suit, appeal or application, the day from which such period is to be reckoned, shall be excluded. (2) In computing the period of limitation for an appeal or an application for leave to appeal or for revision or for review of a judgment, the day on which the judgment complained of was pronounced and the time requisite for obtaining a copy of the decree, sentence or order appealed from or sought to be revised or reviewed shall be excluded. (3) Where a decree or order is appealed from or sought to be revised or reviewed, or where an application is made for leave to appeal from a decree or order, the time requisite for obtaining a copy of the judgment shall also be excluded. (4) In computing the period of limitation for an application to set aside an award, the time requisite for obtaining a copy of the award shall be excluded.' The Explanation cuts the other way: time the court itself took to prepare the decree or order BEFORE a copy application was made is not excluded. Related computation rules verified in the same text: s.4 (filing on reopening day if the period expires when the court is closed), s.14 (exclusion of time prosecuting in good faith in a court without jurisdiction), s.15 (exclusion of stay/injunction periods, statutory-notice and consent/sanction time, and time the defendant is absent from India), s.17 (fraud, concealment or mistake postpones the start until discovery), s.9 (once time begins to run, no subsequent disability stops it).

Acknowledgment and part-payment — resetting the clock

Sections 18, 19, 20

Section 18 (quoted): '(1) Where, before the expiration of the prescribed period for a suit or application in respect of any property or right, an acknowledgment of liability in respect of such property or right has been made in writing signed by the party against whom such property or right is claimed, or by any person through whom he derives his title or liability, a fresh period of limitation shall be computed from the time when the acknowledgment was so signed.' The Explanation is generous: the acknowledgment may omit the exact nature of the property or right, may say payment time has not yet come, may even be 'accompanied by a refusal to pay', may be coupled with a set-off claim, or be addressed to a third person — 'signed' includes signature by a duly authorised agent; but Explanation (c) excludes execution applications from its benefit. Section 19 (part-payment, quoted): '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 authorised in this behalf, a fresh period of limitation shall be computed from the time when the payment was made: Provided that ... an acknowledgment of the payment appears in the handwriting of, or in a writing signed by, the person making the payment.' Its Explanation: a mortgagee-in-possession's receipt of rent/produce counts as payment, and 'debt' does NOT include money payable under a decree or order. s.20 adds that an acknowledgment or payment by ONE of several joint contractors, partners, executors or mortgagees does not bind the others (s.20(2)), while a guardian/manager of a person under disability, a Hindu limited owner (binding the reversioner), and a HUF manager (binding the family) can effectively acknowledge or pay. Both sections require the reset to happen BEFORE the current period expires — a signed acknowledgment of an already-barred debt creates no fresh period under this Act (though it may found a new contract under s.25(3) Contract Act, saved by s.29(1)).

Legal disability — minors and persons of unsound mind

Sections 6, 7, 8

Sections 6-8 (verified from the fetched text). s.6(1): where a person entitled to institute a suit or make an execution application is, 'at the time from which the prescribed period is to be reckoned, a minor or insane, or an idiot, he may institute the suit or make the application within the same period after the disability has ceased, as would otherwise have been allowed from the time specified therefor in the third column of the Schedule'; sub-sections (2)-(5) handle double disabilities, death under disability (legal representative steps in), and the Explanation extends 'minor' to 'a child in the womb'. s.7: where ONE of several persons jointly entitled is under disability, time runs against all if a discharge can be given without him; otherwise it runs against none until a discharge becomes possible or the disability ceases — with Explanation II deeming a Mitakshara HUF manager capable of giving discharge only if in management of the joint family property. s.8 caps everything: 'Nothing in section 6 or in section 7 applies to suits to enforce rights of pre-emption, or shall be deemed to extend, for more than three years from the cessation of the disability or the death of the person affected thereby, the period of limitation for any suit or application.' So a minor dispossessed of property gets the full period from majority, subject to the three-year post-cessation ceiling of s.8, and pre-emption suits (Article 97) get no disability relief at all. Note s.6 covers only suits and execution applications — not appeals or other applications.

Where this page is honest about not knowing

  • This is not the complete Schedule. Articles 2-4, 6, 8-13, 16-17, 20, 23, 28-30, 32-34, 36, 38-41, 43, 45-46, 48-50, 53, 56, 60, 66, 68-71, 77-81, 83-86, 89-90, 92-96, 98-100, 102-104, 107-108, 111, 119, 125-126, 128-130, 132 and 134 are not in this dataset. Their absence here does not mean no period applies — check the bare Act.
  • The India Code consolidated Limitation Act PDF still prints as-enacted cross-references to the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Articles 114, 115, 131) and the Arbitration Act, 1940 (Article 119). How courts transpose these to the CrPC 1973 / BNSS 2023 appeal-and-revision provisions was not verified from bare-Act text; the periods are quoted as printed.
  • Apparent typographical errors in the official PDF were preserved with bracketed corrections: Article 97 prints 'When the purchaser take under the sale...', Article 106 prints 'a share of a residur', and Article 133(a) prints 'the date of the judgment final order or sentence' (missing comma).
  • Some plain-English notes state settled case-law mappings that are not in the Schedule text: negligence/personal-injury suits under Article 113; probate/letters-of-administration petitions and IBC s.7/9 applications under Article 137; NCLAT limitation running from pronouncement; Arbitration s.34 'receipt' meaning delivery under s.31(5); and the exclusion of s.5 from Arbitration s.34(3). These are settled practice but were not verified from primary judgments in this run.
  • The Commercial Courts Act, 2015 s.13 sixty-day appeal period (mentioned in the Article 116 FAQ) and the Motor Vehicles Act s.166(3) claim window (relevant to Article 82) were NOT fetched from the bare Acts — treat those two cross-references as likely, not confirmed.
  • The IBC text used is India Code's consolidation marked 'Last Update 01-6-2020'; no later amendment to s.61(2) is known, but post-2020 amendments were not independently verified.
  • RBI's reduction of cheque validity to 3 months (mentioned in the NI Act entry) is a central-bank direction, not part of the fetched statutory text — s.138 proviso (a) itself says 'six months ... or within the period of its validity, whichever is earlier'.

Frequently asked

What is the limitation period for recovery of money in India?

Usually three years — but the starting point decides everything. Money lent runs from the date of the loan (Article 19), even a loan 'payable on demand' (Article 21). A deposit payable on demand runs from the demand (Article 22). Goods sold with no credit period run from delivery (Article 14); with a credit period, from its expiry (Article 15). Work done with no fixed payment date runs from completion of the work (Article 18). Same three years, four different clocks.

Can a court condone the delay if I file a suit late?

No. Section 5 of the Limitation Act applies only to appeals and applications, never to suits — and s.3 requires a time-barred suit to be dismissed 'although limitation has not been set up as a defence'. For suits, only the computation rules (ss.12-15), the fraud/mistake postponement in s.17, and a s.18 acknowledgment or s.19 part-payment made before expiry can help.

Does sending a legal notice stop or extend limitation?

No. A legal notice neither stops nor restarts time. Only a written, signed acknowledgment of liability (s.18), a part-payment acknowledged in the payer's writing (s.19) — both made before the period expires — or the statutory exclusions in ss.12-15 affect the computation.

How do I restart the limitation clock on a debt?

Two statutory routes, both of which must happen before the current period expires: a written acknowledgment of liability signed by the debtor or his authorised agent (s.18), or a part-payment acknowledged in the payer's handwriting or a writing signed by him (s.19). Each gives a fresh period from that date. An acknowledgment signed after the debt is already time-barred creates no fresh period under this Act — though it may found a new contract under s.25(3) of the Contract Act.

Why does the Schedule's third column matter so much?

Because the period alone decides nothing — the third column ('time from which period begins to run') decides when it starts, and that is where cases are won and lost. A demand loan (Article 21) runs from the loan date; a demand deposit (Article 22) from the demand; a demand promissory note (Article 35) from the date on the note. All three are three-year periods with completely different effective deadlines.

Is the cheque-bounce deadline also in the Limitation Act Schedule?

No. The s.138 NI Act timeline is a chain of deadlines in the Negotiable Instruments Act itself: presentation within the cheque's validity, a written demand notice within thirty days of the bank's return memo, the drawer's fifteen-day payment window, then the complaint within one month — with late complaints condonable for sufficient cause under s.142(1)(b). The arbitration set-aside window, IBC appeals and consumer complaints likewise live in their own statutes, which is why this page lists them separately.

What if the limitation period expires while the court is closed?

Section 4 saves you: where the prescribed period expires on a day when the court is closed, the suit, appeal or application may be instituted on the day the court reopens.

Does limitation extinguish the debt itself or just the remedy?

Generally it bars the remedy by suit, not the underlying right — which is why an acknowledgment of a barred debt can still found a new contract under s.25(3) of the Contract Act. The stark exception is s.27: once the period for a possession suit expires, the right to the property itself is extinguished — the engine of adverse possession under Article 65.

Sources

Last reviewed: 2026-08-19.

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