Latest JudgementThe Limitation Act, 1963Code of Civil Procedure, 1908

Nikhila Divyang Mehta & Anr. v. Hitesh P. Sanghvi & Ors., 2025

Supreme Court of India·18 April 2025

Court

Supreme Court of India

Date of Decision

18 April 2025

Judges

Justices Pankaj Mithal ⦁ Justices SVN Bhatti

Citation

Acts / Provisions

Article 58 of the Limitation Act, 1963 Order VII Rule 11(d) of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908

Facts of the Case

The plaintiff filed a civil suit for declaration.
She sought a declaration that the Will dated 04.02.2014 and the Codicil dated 20.09.2014, allegedly executed by her father, were null and void.
The challenge to the Will and Codicil was primarily on the ground of fraud.
The plaintiff contended that the Will and Codicil were procured by fraud.
No specific date of execution by the father is disputed, but the validity and genuineness are contested.
The plaintiff claimed to have become aware of the existence and contents of the Will and Codicil in the first week of November 2014.
This is crucial as it determines the starting point of limitation.
The suit was filed on 21.11.2017.
There is a time gap of more than three years between the date of knowledge (early November 2014) and the filing date (21 November 2017).
Under Article 58 of the Limitation Act, 1963, the limitation period for a suit seeking declaration is three years from the date when the right to sue first accrues.
If the cause of action arose in the first week of November 2014, the limitation would have expired in the first week of November 2017.

Whether the suit is time-barred under the Limitation Act, 1963, given that the suit was filed beyond the statutory period of three years after the plaintiff’s knowledge of the cause of action?
Whether the limitation period starts from the date when the plaintiff acquires complete knowledge of the dispute or from when the cause of action first accrues?

The Supreme Court rejected the argument that the limitation period should begin from the date of “full knowledge” of the cause of action.
The Court clarified that the limitation period starts from the date when the cause of action first accrues, which, in this case, was when the plaintiff first acquired knowledge of the Will and Codicil in November 2014.

The Court dismissed the plaintiff’s appeal, holding that the suit was filed beyond the three-year limitation period prescribed under Article 58 of the Limitation Act, 1963.
The Court set aside the Gujarat High Court's decision that had reversed the Civil Court’s rejection of the plaint.

The Supreme Court emphasized that limitation laws cannot be circumvented by arguments about when a party acquires full knowledge of the cause of action. The limitation period must start from the first knowledge of the cause of action, not after a complete investigation.
The Court rejected the argument that limitation is a mixed question of law and fact, explaining that if the suit is ex-facie barred by limitation, no further evidence is required.