Section 14 limitation exclusion extends to preparatory steps taken before filing an infructuous civil revision petition.

Section 14 of the Limitation Act is construed broadly to exclude the full period spent in prosecuting an infructuous civil revision petition, not merely the time after formal filing. The preparatory steps needed to institute the proceeding, such as obtaining copies and completing indispensable filing requirements, also count as part of the prosecuting period where due diligence and good faith are shown. This reading reflects the provision's purpose of protecting a diligent litigant from the consequences of fruitless litigation. The narrower view, which confined exclusion to actual pendency in court, is rejected as inconsistent with the text, object, and Explanation to the section.

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Issues: Whether, for purposes of Section 14 of the Limitation Act, the time to be excluded includes only the period during which an infructuous civil revision petition was actually pending in court, or also the period spent in taking the necessary preparatory steps to institute that revision petition.

Analysis: Section 14 uses broad language excluding the time during which the plaintiff has been prosecuting with due diligence another civil proceeding in good faith in a court unable to entertain it for defect of jurisdiction or a like cause. The expression is not confined to the bare period after formal presentation in court. Where a litigant is required to obtain copies and take other indispensable steps before filing the proceeding, that time also forms part of the prosecution of the civil proceeding, provided due diligence is shown. The language of the provision, its object of relieving a party from the consequences of fruitless litigation, and the earlier authorities supporting a liberal construction all show that no distinction can be drawn between preparatory steps and actual pendency in court. The contrary line of cases was rejected as resting on an unduly narrow reading of the section and its Explanation.

Conclusion: The entire period occupied in pursuing the infructuous civil revision petition, including the preparatory steps leading to its institution, is liable to be excluded under Section 14, subject to proof of due diligence and good faith.

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