Limitation for election petitions: section 10 of the General Clauses Act does not extend time when court remains open during vacation.

An election petition under section 81(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 must be filed within forty-five days, and the Act operates as a complete special code for election disputes. Section 10 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 applies only when the court is closed on the last day for filing; where a vacation notification keeps the High Court open for election petitions, there is no closure to extend limitation. On that basis, the petition filed after expiry of forty-five days was barred, and dismissal under section 86(1) was justified.

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Issues: Whether an election petition filed on the first reopening day of the High Court after summer vacation was within the limitation period under section 81(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and whether section 10 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 saved the filing.

Analysis: The prescribed period for presenting an election petition under section 81(1) is forty-five days, and the Act constitutes a complete and special code governing election disputes. If the petition is not filed within that period, section 86(1) mandates dismissal. Section 10 of the General Clauses Act applies only where the court or office is closed on the last day of the prescribed period. The High Court notification in force during the summer vacation expressly kept the court open for hearing election petitions and other matters arising under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, so there was no closure preventing presentation of the petition during the vacation. The notification relied upon by the appellant was therefore materially different from those considered in the cases cited on his behalf, while the earlier decision involving an identical Punjab and Haryana High Court notification governed the matter.

Conclusion: Section 10 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 did not apply, and the election petition filed after expiry of forty-five days was barred by limitation. The dismissal of the election petition was justified.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the relevant court notification keeps the court open for election petitions during vacation, section 10 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 does not extend the limitation period for filing an election petition under section 81(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

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