Declaratory suit limitation starts only on infringement or clear threat; adverse revenue entry alone does not trigger time bar.

Limitation for a declaratory suit under Article 58 of the Limitation Act begins only when the asserted right is infringed or when there is a clear and unequivocal threat of infringement. A mere adverse revenue entry does not by itself create a cause of action or start limitation. On the pleaded facts, the suit was filed shortly after the defendants refused to admit the claim and correct the entries, so the cause of action was not tied to the earlier compromise date. The contrary view, that limitation ran from the compromise, was held unsustainable, and the suit was not barred by limitation.

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Issues: Whether a declaratory suit challenging revenue entries was barred by limitation under Article 58 of the Limitation Act, 1963, and when the right to sue first accrued.

Analysis: Article 58 requires a suit for declaration to be filed within three years from the date when the right to sue first accrues. The governing principle is that there is no right to sue until the asserted right is infringed, or there is at least a clear and unequivocal threat to infringe it. A mere adverse entry in the revenue record does not by itself create a cause of action. On the pleaded facts, the suit was filed within a few days of the defendants' refusal to admit the claim and to correct the entries, and the pleaded cause of action was therefore not tied to the compromise of 1972. The courts below proceeded on an erroneous assumption that limitation began from the compromise date.

Conclusion: The suit was not barred by limitation under Article 58, and the finding to the contrary was unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: For a declaratory suit, limitation begins only when the asserted right is infringed or when there is a clear and unequivocal threat to infringe it, and a wrong revenue entry alone does not start limitation.

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