Limitation for delivery of possession runs from final rejection of a sale challenge, not earlier confirmation of court sale.

For delivery of possession under Article 180 of the Limitation Act, limitation runs from the date on which a pending challenge to the court sale is finally disallowed, not from the earlier confirmation order. The HC read Article 180 with Order XXI Rule 92 CPC and held that a sale becomes absolute only after applications under Rules 89, 90 or 91 have been disposed of and rejected. Where a belated application to set aside the sale is entertained after confirmation, the earlier confirmation does not start limitation. The purchaser's right to seek delivery arises only when the sale is no longer under challenge.

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Issues: Whether, for an application for delivery of possession under Article 180 of the Limitation Act, time begins to run from the original order confirming a court sale or from the date on which the belated application to set aside the sale is finally disallowed.

Analysis: The Court held that Article 180 must be read with Rule 92 of Order XXI of the Civil Procedure Code. Rule 92 contemplates that a sale becomes absolute only after an application under Rules 89, 90 or 91 has been disposed of and disallowed. Where an application to set aside the sale is entertained after a confirmation order has already been passed, the earlier confirmation does not conclude the matter for limitation purposes. The Court reasoned that the purchaser's right to apply for delivery arises only when the challenge to the sale is finally rejected, because until then the sale cannot be treated as having become absolute within the meaning of Article 180. The decisions relied on were treated as supporting a construction that fixes limitation from the date when the remedy becomes available, not from an earlier ineffective confirmation.

Conclusion: Limitation for the delivery application commenced from the date of the order disallowing the application to set aside the sale, and not from the earlier confirmation order.

Ratio Decidendi: For Article 180 of the Limitation Act, a court sale becomes absolute only when the pending challenge under Order XXI Rules 89, 90 or 91 has been finally rejected, and limitation for delivery runs from that date.

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