Limitation under merchandise marks law runs from the offence charged, not the first alleged infringement in a continuing series.

Section 15 of the Indian Merchandise Marks Act was read to make limitation run from the offence actually charged in the complaint, not from the first alleged infringement in a continuing course of conduct. The Court held that the statutory language was plain and could not be expanded to cover earlier similar infringements without express words, and it rejected a purposive construction that would depart from the text. It also noted that treating limitation as dependent on proving an earlier infringement would create practical difficulty and inconsistency. Limitation therefore begins with the specific prosecutable offence alleged in the complaint.

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Issues: Whether, for the purposes of limitation under Section 15 of the Indian Merchandise Marks Act, the starting point is the date of the offence charged or the date of the first infringement in a case of alleged continuing infringement.

Analysis: The language of Section 15 was held to be plain and to refer to the offence charged in the complaint, namely the specific offence for which prosecution is launched. The provision was not read as referring to the first of a series of similar infringements continuing over time, because such a construction would require words not found in the statute. The Court rejected an interpretation based on presumed legislative object where the statutory text itself was clear, and it also noted the practical difficulties and inconsistencies that would arise if limitation depended on proving an earlier similar infringement.

Conclusion: Limitation under Section 15 begins from the date of the offence charged in the complaint, and not from the date of the first alleged infringement in a continuing course of conduct.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statutory language is clear, limitation is computed from the offence actually charged, and a continuing series of infringements does not shift the starting point to the first infringement absent express words to that effect.

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