Sections 8, 9 and 10 of the Limitation Act 1963 Explained
Sections 8, 9 and 10 of the Limitation Act, 1963 deal respectively with special exceptions to the legal-disability provisions, continuous running of time after limitation has begun, and specified suits concerning property vested in trust for a specific purpose.
Section 8: Special Exceptions
Section 8 provides that nothing in Section 6 or Section 7 applies to suits to enforce rights of pre-emption. It further provides that those sections shall not be deemed to extend, for more than three years from the cessation of the disability or the death of the person affected by it, the period of limitation for any suit or application.
Meaning and Effect of Section 8
Sections 6 and 7 provide special rules where legal disability exists. Section 8 places statutory limits on those rules. A suit to enforce a right of pre-emption does not receive the benefit of Sections 6 or 7. For other suits or applications within the disability provisions, Section 8 restricts the extension to the period stated in the section.
- Sections 6 and 7 do not apply to suits enforcing rights of pre-emption.
- The disability provisions cannot extend limitation for more than three years from cessation of disability or death of the affected person.
- Section 8 should therefore be read together with Sections 6 and 7 on legal disability.
Section 9: Continuous Running of Time
Where once time has begun to run, no subsequent disability or inability to institute a suit or make an application stops it.
Proviso: Where letters of administration to the estate of a creditor have been granted to the creditor's debtor, the running of the period of limitation for a suit to recover the debt is suspended while the administration continues.
What Continuous Running of Time Means
The general rule under Section 9 is that once the limitation period has started, a disability or inability arising later does not interrupt or stop the running of time. This distinguishes a subsequent disability from a disability that exists at the time from which limitation is to be reckoned under Section 6.
The proviso creates a specific statutory exception where letters of administration to a creditor's estate are granted to the debtor. During that administration, limitation for a suit to recover the debt is suspended.
Section 10: Suits Against Trustees and Their Representatives
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of the Limitation Act, no suit against a person in whom property has become vested in trust for a specific purpose, or against that person's legal representatives or assigns other than assigns for valuable consideration, for the purpose of following such property or its proceeds in their hands, or for an account of such property or proceeds, shall be barred by any length of time.
Scope of Section 10
Section 10 applies to the category of trust property and proceedings described in the section. It covers a suit to follow the trust property or its proceeds in the hands of the trustee, legal representatives or qualifying assigns, as well as a suit seeking an account of that property or its proceeds.
- The property must have become vested in trust for a specific purpose.
- The provision extends to the trustee's legal representatives.
- It extends to assigns, but excludes assigns for valuable consideration.
- The protected proceedings include following the property or its proceeds and seeking an account of them.
Explanation to Section 10: Religious and Charitable Endowments
For Section 10, property comprised in a Hindu, Muslim or Buddhist religious or charitable endowment is deemed to be property vested in trust for a specific purpose, and the manager of the property is deemed to be the trustee thereof.
How Sections 8, 9 and 10 Work Together
These provisions address different aspects of limitation. Section 8 restricts the special protection arising from legal disability. Section 9 preserves the continuous running of limitation after time has begun, subject to its stated proviso. Section 10 removes the ordinary time bar for the particular trust-related suits falling within its terms.