Limitation periods cheat-sheet

What a limitation period is

A limitation period is the time the law allows you to take a legal step: send a notice, file a complaint or suit, or appeal. Most periods for civil suits, appeals and applications are in the Schedule to the Limitation Act, 1963, which lists each kind of case as a numbered article, with its period and the event the period runs from (Section 2(j)). Other laws, such as the Negotiable Instruments Act or the Consumer Protection Act, set their own periods, and those are in the table too.

A suit filed after its period is dismissed, even if the other side does not raise it (Section 3). So the deadline matters more than the strength of your case.

The deadlines people most often miss

Situation	Period	Runs from	Law	On eMunshi
Cheque: present it to the bank	6 months, or the cheque's validity if shorter	The date on the cheque	Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, s.138(a)	Cheque-bounced guide
Cheque bounce: send the demand notice	30 days	The day the bank tells you the cheque came back unpaid	NI Act, s.138(b)	Cheque-bounce notice
Cheque bounce: drawer's time to pay	15 days	The day the drawer receives the notice	NI Act, s.138(c)	—
Cheque bounce: file the complaint	One month	When the drawer's 15 days run out without payment	NI Act, s.142(1)(b)	Get an advocate
Consumer complaint (District, State or National Commission)	2 years	The day the cause of action arose	Consumer Protection Act, 2019, s.69	Consumer notice · Get an advocate
Appeal against a District Commission order	45 days	The date of the order	Consumer Protection Act, 2019, s.41	Get an advocate
RTI: the officer's time to reply	30 days (48 hours if life or liberty is involved)	The day the officer receives your request	Right to Information Act, 2005, s.7(1)	RTI application
RTI first appeal	30 days	The day the reply period ran out, or the day you received the decision	RTI Act, s.19(1)	RTI first appeal
RTI second appeal to the Information Commission	90 days	The day the first appeal should have been decided, or the day you received the decision	RTI Act, s.19(3)	Get an advocate
Motor accident compensation claim (MACT)	6 months; up to 12 more months if the tribunal accepts a sufficient cause	The date of the accident	Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, s.166(3)	Get an advocate
Recovering unpaid maintenance under an order	1 year	The date the amount became due	Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, s.144(3)	Get an advocate
Suit for money lent	3 years	The day the loan was made	Limitation Act, Schedule, Articles 19 and 21	Get an advocate
Suit for money deposited, repayable on demand	3 years	The day you demand it	Limitation Act, Schedule, Article 22	Get an advocate
Suit for the price of goods sold and delivered	3 years	The date of delivery, or the end of the agreed credit period	Limitation Act, Schedule, Articles 14 and 15	Get an advocate
Suit for the price of work done, no time fixed for payment	3 years	When the work is done	Limitation Act, Schedule, Article 18	Get an advocate
Suit for unpaid wages	3 years	When the wages fall due	Limitation Act, Schedule, Article 7	Get an advocate
Suit for compensation for breach of a contract	3 years	When the contract is broken	Limitation Act, Schedule, Article 55	Get an advocate
Suit for defamation (libel or slander)	1 year	When the libel is published, or the words are spoken	Limitation Act, Schedule, Articles 75 and 76	Get an advocate
Landlord's suit to recover possession from a tenant	12 years	When the tenancy ends	Limitation Act, Schedule, Article 67	Get an advocate
Suit for possession of property based on title	12 years	When the other person's possession becomes adverse to you	Limitation Act, Schedule, Article 65	Get an advocate
Any other suit with no period of its own	3 years	When the right to sue accrues	Limitation Act, Schedule, Article 113	Get an advocate
Civil appeal	90 days to a High Court; 30 days to any other court	The date of the decree or order	Limitation Act, Schedule, Article 116	Get an advocate
Executing a civil court decree	12 years	When the decree becomes enforceable	Limitation Act, Schedule, Article 136	Get an advocate
Court taking up a criminal complaint	6 months (fine only); 1 year (up to 1 year's imprisonment); 3 years (more than 1 and up to 3 years)	The date of the offence, or the day it (or the offender) first became known to you or the police, if later; counted to the day the complaint is filed or the police record the information	BNSS, ss.514 and 515	Police complaint

How the days are counted

• The first day is left out. The day from which the period runs is not counted (Limitation Act, Section 12(1)).
• For an appeal, copy time is left out. The day of the judgment, and the time needed to get a copy of the decree or order, are not counted (Section 12(2)).
• A holiday on the last day. If the court is closed on the last day, you can file on the day it reopens (Section 4).
• A written acknowledgment restarts the clock. If the other side acknowledges the debt in writing, signed, before the period ends, a fresh period runs from that date (Section 18). A part payment acknowledged in writing does the same (Section 19).
• Late appeals and applications. A court can admit an appeal or most applications late if you show sufficient cause for the delay (Section 5). This does not apply to suits. The cheque-bounce, consumer, RTI and motor accident laws have their own provisions allowing a late filing for sufficient cause, as noted in the table.

What to do if a deadline is close

1. Find the date the period runs from. Look for the bank's return memo, the date of the order, the date of the accident, the date of the loan or delivery.
2. Count the period with the rules above, and write the last day down.
3. Act before the last day, not on it. Send the notice or file the case with time to spare.
4. If it has already passed, ask an advocate at once whether the law allows a late filing for your case, and what reason you can show for the delay.

Mistakes that sink people

• Counting from the wrong date. For a loan, the three years run from the day the loan was made (Article 19), not from the day you asked for it back.
• Waiting for talks to finish. Talks do not stop the clock. Only the events the law names, such as a signed written acknowledgment, start it again.
• Assuming a late suit can be excused. Section 5 helps with appeals and applications, not suits.
• Using a general period when a special law sets a shorter one. A cheque-bounce complaint has one month, not three years.

This page lists the most common periods. It is not complete: many other laws set their own. For your case, an independent advocate from our panel can tell you exactly where you stand; they quote their fee before you pay anything, and a 30-minute call starts at ₹999.