Failure To Frame Specific Issue On Limitation Not Fatal; Courts Can Examine Limitation Suo Motu: J&K&L High Court

The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has held that the question of limitation can be subsumed within the broader issues arising from the pleadings, and failure to frame a specific issue on limitation is not fatal, so long as no prejudice is caused to the parties.Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal, while dismissing a writ petition challenging dismissal of a revision petition on the ground of delay, clarified that authorities are duty-bound to examine limitation suo motu, even if it is neither pleaded nor argued.Citing recent precedent of R. Nagaraj (Dead) Through Lrs. And Another Versus Rajmani And Others 2025 the bench reiterated, “.. Absence of a specific issue on limitation, the court is competent to examine and decide the same… the question of limitation can be subsumed within the broader issues arising from the pleadings and that failure to frame a specific issue on limitation is not fatal, so long as no prejudice is caused to the parties”These observations came while dealing with a writ petition filed by Abdul Gani Ganie and other legal heirs of late Abdul Rehman Ganie, invoking Article 226 of the Constitution and seeking quashment of Mutation relating to land measuring 4 Kanals and 5 Marlas situated at District Baramulla. The petitioners also challenged orders passed by the Financial Commissioner (Revenue), J&K, by which their revision and review petitions were dismissed.The background of the dispute showed that the petitioners had approached the Financial Commissioner by filing a revision petition against an inheritance mutation attested nearly 25 years earlier, contending that the mutation was effected in violation of the law of succession and without associating all legal heirs. Although the revision petition was heard on merits, it ultimately came to be dismissed on the ground of limitation. The review petition met the same fate. Aggrieved, the petitioners approached the High Court, alleging that dismissal on limitation without affording them an opportunity to address the issue resulted in miscarriage of justice.The petitioners argued that the issue of limitation was never raised during arguments and that deciding the revision on that ground violated principles of natural justice. It was also urged that revisional powers under Section 13(4) of the J&K Land Revenue Act were not circumscribed by limitation, and that mutations violating Muslim Personal Law and Standing Order 23-A could be questioned at any point of time.Justice Nargal, after examining the pleadings and material on record, first dealt with the issue of maintainability. The Court observed that the dispute essentially revolved around inter se inheritance rights, private settlement, and mutation of land between family members, which were purely private law disputes. It was held that writ jurisdiction under Article 226 is primarily meant for enforcement of public law rights and cannot be invoked to adjudicate private property disputes in the absence of any public duty or statutory violation. The Court categorically held that a writ petition where the respondent is a private individual and no public authority is involved is inherently not maintainable.The Court further noted that no State authority, including the Financial Commissioner whose orders were under challenge, had been impleaded, rendering the writ petition procedurally defective. It emphasized that an order cannot be effectively challenged unless the authority which passed it is arrayed as a party.“.. an order cannot be effectively challenged unless the authority which passed the order is arrayed as a party. In the absence of the decision-making authority, no effective adjudication can take place, and any order passed by this Court would be rendered unenforceable”, the court remarked. Even while holding the writ petition to be not maintainable, the Court proceeded to briefly examine the issue of limitation to demonstrate that no prejudice was caused to the petitioners. Rejecting the contention that limitation could not be examined in absence of specific pleadings or arguments, the Court observed that limitation goes to the very root of maintainability and must be examined by the court or authority suo motu.In a crucial observation, the Court held, “The question of limitation is a pure question of law, which goes to the very root of the maintainability of the proceedings. A court or statutory authority is not only empowered but is duty-bound to examine the issue of limitation suo motu, even if the same has not been specifically pleaded or argued by the parties.”Observing that the question of limitation can be encompassed within broader issues arising from pleadings and that failure to frame a specific issue on limitation is not fatal the High Court emphasized that Section 3 of the Limitation Act mandates courts to decide limitation upon consideration of pleadings and material on record.The Court further observed that entertaining a time-barred claim would itself amount to a...

Failure To Frame Specific Issue On Limitation Not Fatal; Courts Can Examine Limitation Suo Motu: J&K&L High Court

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