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2017 Supreme(SC) 940
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
KURIAN JOSEPH, R. BANUMATHI, JJ.
DAMINI AND ANOTHER – APPELLANT(S)
VERSUS
MANAGING DIRECTOR, JODHPUR VIDYUT VITRAN NIGAM LIMITED AND ANOTHER – RESPONDENT(S)
CIVIL APPEAL NO. 12851 OF 2017 (Arising out of S.L.P. (C) No. 26011 of 2016)
Decided On : 14-09-2017
IMPORTANT POINT
Once a specific period of limitation is referrable to any of the entries in the Schedule to the Limitation Act, 1963, then the residuary Article 113 cannot be invoked.
Headnote:Fatal Accidents Act, 1855 – Section 1A r/w Articles 82 and 113, Limitation Act, 1963 – Article 82 providing for a specific period of limitation of two years for suit for damages under the Act, 1855 – Residuary provision under Article 113 cannot be invoked. (Para 10, 11)
(1994) 4 SCC 1 – Distinguished
Facts of the case:
What is the period of limitation for filing a suit or claim under The Fatal Accidents Act, 1855 is the issue arising for consideration in this case.
Finding of the Court:
Once a specific period of limitation is referrable to any of the entries in the Schedule to the Limitation Act, 1963, then the residuary Article 113 cannot be invoked.
Result: Appeal disposed of. Not to be treated as precedent.
JUDGMENT
KURIAN, J.:
Leave granted.
2. What is the period of limitation for filing a suit or claim under The Fatal Accidents Act, 1855 is the issue arising for consideration in this case.
3. The appellants are the widow and son of one Pradeep Bhai Patel who worked as a driver of a bus. The deceased was driving passengers from Ahmedabad to Rajasthan. When the bus reached a dharamshala, the deceased climbed the rooftop of the bus to bring down the luggage of the passengers. When the deceased was on the rooftop, a naked electricity wire touched his hand. Due to the electrocution, the deceased fell down from the roof of the bus. Thereafter, he was rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead by the doctors. The cause of death was the contact with the live electricity wire.
4. The appellants filed an application under Section 1A of the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855 before the District Judge, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan claiming Rs. 22, 68, 000/-towards damages. The claim was resisted on the ground of limitation among other grounds.
5. According to the respondents, under Article 82 of The Limitation Act, 1963, the claim should have been presented within two years from the date of death of the person. The contention was upheld and the claim petition was dismissed. The decision was upheld by the High Court as well, and thus, the appellants are before this Court.
6. It is the contention of the appellants that the petition filed before the District Judge has to be treated as a Civil Suit for damages, and hence, it was the residuary entry, viz., Article 113 which should have been applied, in which case, the limitation is three years from when the right to sue accrues which is the date of death, i.e., 14.09.2008.
7. In the present case, the claim petition was preferred on 05.09.2011 before the District Judge, and therefore, according to the learned Counsel for the appellants, the petition was within time.
8. We are afraid the contentions raised by the appellants cannot be appreciated. Part VII of the Schedule to the Limitation Act, 1963 which provides for period of limitation deals with suits relating to tort. Article 82 is under Part VII. The same reads as follows:
“PART VII-SUITS RELATING TO TORT
| Description of suit | Period of limitation | Time from which period begins to run |
| By executors, administrators or representatives under the Indian Fatal Accidents Act, 1855 (13 of 1855). | Two years. | The date of the death of the person killed." |
9. Under Part X, Article 113 reads as follows:
“PART X-SUITS FOR WHICH THERE IS NO PRESCRIBED PERIOD
| Description of suit | Period of limitation | Time from which period begins to run |
| Any suit for which no period of limitation is provided elsewhere in this Schedule. | Three years. | When the right to sue accrues." |
10. As rightly contended by Shri Punjeet Jain, learned Counsel appearing for the respondents, once a specific period of limitation is referrable to any of the entries in the Schedule to the Limitation Act, 1963, then the residuary Article 113 cannot be invoked. In the instant case, for a suit for damages under the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855 Article 82 provides for a specific period of limitation, viz., two years from the date of death of the person.
11. Part VII of the Schedule deals with the “suits relating to tort”. Therefore, when a suit for compensation is filed under the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855, the same has to be filed within the period of two years as prescribed under Article 82 of the Limitation Act, 1963. In the instant case, the action for damages is brought under Section 1A of the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855. The provision reads as follows:
“[1A.] Suit for compensation to the family of a person for loss occasioned to it by his death by actionable wrong.-Whenever the death of a pers
