1952 (1) TMI 27

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....ction (3) of Section 8 provides that an appeal shall lie against the decision of that officer, and in this case the appeal lay to this Court. The appeal in fact was preferred on 28-2-1951. Section 8 (3) provides that such appeal shall be made within a period of 60 days from the date of the decision. The appeal was out of time by two days. The petitioners applied that delay should be condoned under Section 5, Limitation Act, as they had sufficient cause for the delay, and the question that arises for our determination is whether Section 5 applies to an appeal provided under the Land Requisition Act. [2] What calls for our interpretation in the first instance is Section 29 (2), Limitation Act. The section assumed its present form in 1922. ....

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....articular special law. In our opinion, that is not the correct interpretation to put upon the language used by the Legislature, viz. "a period of limitation different from the period prescribed therefore by the first schedule." The period of limitation may be different under two different circumstances. It may be different if it modifies or alters a period of limitation fixed by the first schedule to the Limitation Act. It may also be different in the sense that it departs from the period of limitation fixed for various appeals under the Limitation Act. If the first schedule to the Limitation Act omits laying down any period of limitation for a particular appeal and the special law provides a period of limitation, then to that extent the sp....

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....e period of limitation." In our opinion, every provision in the Limitation Act is intended for the purpose of determining the period of limitation. The Limitation Act by its operative Section 3 provides that every suit, appeal or application presented to the Court shall be dismissed unless it is filed within the period of limitation, and, therefore, the main thing that the Court has to consider is whether a suit or an application or an appeal is maintainable looking to the provisions of the Limitation Act, and in order to decide that not only has the Court to consider various sections like Section 4 and Sections 9 to 18 but also Section 5, because if a suit, appeal or application is out of time as provided by the first schedule, the Court h....

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.... section. Therefore, the scheme of Section 29 (2) seems to be this. Section 3 is made applicable to all special or local laws which prescribed a period of limitation for any suit, appeal or application. Sections 4, 9 to 18 and 22 also apply unless the special or local law expressly excludes their application. Sections other than those just mentioned would not apply unless the special or local law expressly provided for their application. It is difficult to accept the contention that although Section 29 (2) (b) expressly precluded the application of Section 5, we must hold that Section 6 is applicable by reference to Section 3. [6] The final argument advanced by Mr. Adarkar is that Section 5 applies to all appeals proprio vigore, and this....

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....turn to Section 4, it also speaks of "limitation prescribed" and not "limitation prescribed by Schedule 1," and yet under Section 29 the Legislature had expressly to make Section 4 applicable when the period of limitation was prescribed by a special or local law. If Mr. Adarkar's contention were right, then Section 4 as much as Section 5 would apply proprio vigore and it was not necessary for the Legislature in S. 29 to state that Section 4 would apply under certain circumstances. Therefore, in our opinion, unless the Legislature expressly makes Section 5 applicable, Section 5 does not apply when no period of limitation for that appeal is prescribed in the Limitation Act and a special period is prescribed by a special law. The intention....