# In Re: Cognizance for Extension of Limitation, Miscellaneous Application No. 665 of 2021 in SMW(C) No. 3 of 2020

> SC judgment dated 2021-09-23. Citation: TCN-2021-SC-00015. The Supreme Court of India took Suo Motu cognizance of the difficulties faced by litigants due to…

- **Court:** SC
- **Order date:** 23 Sept 2021
- **Citation:** TCN-2021-SC-00015
- **Category:** IBC
- **Source page:** https://caseease.in/cases/ibc/supreme-court-of-india/in-re-cognizance-for-extension-of-limitation-miscellaneous-application-no-665-of-220f2bb6

## Summary

### Background

The Supreme Court of India took Suo Motu cognizance of the difficulties faced by litigants due to the COVID-19 pandemic in filing petitions, applications, suits, and appeals within the prescribed limitation period. The court initially extended the period of limitation in all proceedings before courts and tribunals, effective from March 15, 2020. As the prevalence of COVID-19 reduced, an order was passed on March 8, 2021, specifying the exclusion of certain periods for computing limitation. However, a second surge in COVID-19 cases prompted the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association (SCAORA) to intervene, seeking restoration of the earlier order. The court then restored the order dated March 23, 2020, and continued the order dated March 8, 2021, extending the

…

## Facts

In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Supreme Court took Suo Motu cognizance of difficulties faced by litigants in meeting limitation periods for legal proceedings. An initial order extended limitation periods. On March 8, 2021, an order was passed addressing the reduction in COVID-19 prevalence, specifying periods to be excluded from limitation calculations. A second COVID-19 surge prompted the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association (SCAORA) to file Miscellaneous Application No. 665 of 2021, seeking restoration of the March 23, 2020 order. The court restored the March 23, 2020 order and continued the March 8, 2021 order, extending limitation until further notice. The Attorney General for India argued for the continuation of paragraph No.4 of the

…

## Issues and analysis

### Issue 1: Whether the period of limitation for various legal proceedings should be extended due to the …

**Ratio:** The legal principle applied is the court's inherent power to take cognizance of

…

**Reasoning:** The court reasoned that the COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for

…

**Interpretation:** The court interpreted the rules of limitation flexibly, recognizing that they

…

**Application:** The court applied the principle of extending limitation periods to all

…

## Parties

- **Judges:** N.V. RA…; L. Nageswa…; +1 more
- **Appellants:** XXXX…

## Timeline

- **2020-03-01 — Outbreak of COVID-19…**: Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Supreme Court took Suo Motu cognizance…
- **2020-03-23 — Initial Extension of…**: The Court directed the extension of the period of limitation in all proceedings before…

---

This is a preview. The full structured summary, issues, precedents and source judgment are available on CaseEase - Legal Intelligence Simplified: https://caseease.in/cases/ibc/supreme-court-of-india/in-re-cognizance-for-extension-of-limitation-miscellaneous-application-no-665-of-220f2bb6