Statutory limitation bar must be addressed before reversing a decree on merits in a suit already found time-barred.

Section 3(1) of the Limitation Act requires a court to dismiss a suit filed beyond time even if limitation is not separately pleaded. Where the trial court has already found the suit barred by limitation under Article 59, an appellate court cannot reverse the decree on merits without first addressing that finding. In this matter, the plea of limitation had been taken in the written statement and decided at trial, but the first appellate court and the High Court did not set aside the limitation finding. The matter was therefore remanded for a limited determination of whether the suit was time-barred.

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Issues: Whether the suit remained barred by limitation despite the appellate courts reversing the trial court on the merits without upsetting the trial court's finding on limitation, and whether the matter should be remanded for a limited decision on that question.

Analysis: Section 3(1) of the Limitation Act, 1963 casts a on the court to dismiss a suit instituted beyond the prescribed period, even if limitation is not set up as a defence. The trial court had recorded a finding that the suit was barred by limitation under Article 59 of the Limitation Act, 1963, but the first appellate court and the High Court reversed the decree without dealing with or setting aside that finding. The bar of limitation, in the circumstances of this case, could not be ignored merely because no separate issue had been framed, since the plea had been taken in the written statement and decided by the trial court. The matter therefore required a determination of the limited question whether the suit was time-barred, and if it was, the suit could not survive on the other issues.

Conclusion: The finding on limitation was required to be examined and the matter was remanded to the first appellate court for a limited decision on whether the suit was barred by limitation.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a plea of limitation has been raised and decided by the trial court, an appellate court cannot reverse the decree on merits without first dealing with that finding, because limitation operates as a statutory bar the court is bound to apply.

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