The Supreme Court has clarified that when a person files a suit where the main relief is the cancellation of a sale deed, the limitation period to file such a suit is strictly three years, not twelve.
"When the main relief in a suit is the cancellation of a sale deed, the time to file the case starts from the date the plaintiff first becomes aware of the deed," the Court said, referring to Rajpal Singh v. Saroj (2022).
The ruling came in a case where a plaintiff filed a suit in 2003 to cancel a sale deed executed in 1992. The trial court held the suit was time-barred under Article 59 of the Limitation Act, which allows only three years. However, the appellate court and High Court ruled in the plaintiff’s favour, stating that a 12-year limitation period for recovery of possession applied.
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The defendants then approached the Supreme Court, arguing the suit was filed too late. The plaintiff argued that since the suit also included a claim for possession, a 12-year limitation (under Article 65) should apply.
"Even if multiple reliefs are claimed, what matters is the main or substantive relief. If that is cancellation, then the time limit is three years," the Court said.
Rejecting the plaintiff’s argument, the bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra ruled that the right to sue started in 1992, the year the sale deed was executed. Since the suit was filed in 2003, it was beyond the 3-year limit and therefore barred by law.
“Any suit seeking cancellation of an instrument as void or voidable must be filed within three years from when the plaintiff first knew of its existence,” the Court clarified.
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The Court also noted that a different case (Mallavva v. Kalsammanavara Kalamma, 2024) applied a different principle, but that was because the main relief there was a declaration of title, not cancellation. In such cases, the limitation depends on the consequential relief like possession.
“The word ‘first’ in Article 59 means the very first time the right to sue arises. If not acted upon within three years, the suit will be barred,” the Court stated.
Case Title: RAJEEV GUPTA & ORS. VERSUS PRASHANT GARG & ORS.
Appearance:
For Appellant(s) : Mr. Kavin Gulati, Sr. Adv. Mr. Rohit Amit Sthalekar, Adv. Mr. Pramod Dayal, AOR Mr. Nikunj Dayal, Adv. Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Adv.
For Respondent(s) :Ms. Dharitry Phookan, AOR
