The main legal point established in the judgment is that the provisions of the Limitation Act are applicable to proceedings under special laws unless expressly excluded by the special law.

1. I regret that I have to disagree with the conclusion reached by my learned brother Gopalan Nambiyar J.

2. The main contention that is raised by the respondent is that as the appellate authority is not a court (civil or criminal) the provision contained in S.5 of the Limitation Act is not applicable for condonation of the delay in filing the appeal. An answer to this contention must depend on a decision regarding the extent of the applicability of the principles' contained in the Limitation Act to the proceedings under the Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act.

3. The Limitation Act contains the general law of limitation of actions. The various Articles in the First Schedule of the Act prescribe the period of limitation for suits, appeals and applications. The Act also lays down in S.4 to 24 the general principles for determination of the period of limitation for suits, appeals and applications. They relate to the powers of the court to extend, exclude and compute the period of limitation. If on determining the period of limitation it is found that the suit, appeal or application is filed, preferred or made after the period of the limitation prescribed, the court should dismiss it. In the case of appeals and certain applications a power (under S.5) is given to the court to condone delay also. These general principles of limitation and the period of limitation are applicable to proceedings in court in general. But rights, remedies and periods of limitation are provided for and prescribed under various

special or local laws also. It is not possible to provide in the Limitation Act for periods of limitation for all types of actions under special laws and a repetition of all the general provisions for determining the period of limitation prescribed under special or local laws in these laws will make them cumbersome. Therefore the. Legislature has enacted in the Limitation Act itself a provision by which the general provisions of the Act are made applicable for the purpose of determining the period of limitation prescribed by the special laws. Thus the Limitation Act of 1908, S.29(2) reads as follows:

"Where any special or local law prescribes for any suit, appeal or application a period of limitation different from the period prescribed therefor by the First Schedule, the provisions of S.3 shall apply; as if such period were prescribed therefor, in that Schedule, and for the purpose of determining any period of limitation prescribed for any suit, appeal or application by any special or local law:

(a) the provisions contained in S.4, Ss.9 to 18. and S.22 shall apply only in so far as, and to the extent to which, they are not expressly excluded by-such special or local law, and

(b) the remaining provisions of this Act shall not apply."

4. As per this, the provisions contained in certain sections of the Limitation Act were applied automatically to determine the periods under the special laws, and the provisions contained in other sections were stated to apply only if they were extended by the special law. The provision (S. 5) relating to the power of the court to condone delay in preferring appeals and making applications come under the latter category. So if the power to condone delay contained S.5 bad to be exercised by the appellate body it had to be conferred by the special law. That is why we find in a number of special laws a provision to the effect that the provision contained in S.5 of the Limitation Act shall apply to the proceeding under the special law. The jurisdiction to entertain proceedings under the special laws is sometimes given to the ordinary courts, and sometimes given to. separate tribunals constituted under the special law. When the special law provides that the provision contained in S.5 shall apply to the proceedings under it, it is really a conferment of the power of the court under S.5 to the Tribunals under the special law whether these tribunals are courts or not. If these tribunals under the spe