Limitation for Taking Cognizance
Chapter Seventy-Three
Syllabus topic 3.7, "Limitation for taking cognizance of certain offences - Section 467 to 473"
Pages 497 to 502 of 699
In one line
Petty offences must be brought to court quickly or not at all, and this chapter says how quickly, from when, and what stops the clock.
In exam wording: Chapter XXXVIII of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, sections 513 to 519, bars a Court from taking cognizance of the specified categories of offence after the period of limitation, fixes when that period begins, provides for the exclusion of certain time, and permits extension in the interests of justice.
Why the law has this at all
Two reasons, and they point the same way.
The first is evidentiary. A prosecution launched years after a minor incident is a prosecution nobody can defend. The witnesses have forgotten, the documents are gone, and the accused cannot prove where he was on an afternoon he has no reason to remember. The graver the offence, the more the law is willing to accept that difficulty, which is why the periods rise with the punishment and stop altogether above three years.
The second is the use of prosecution as a weapon. A stale complaint about a trivial matter, filed when a quarrel flares up again, is a way of harassing somebody with the machinery of the criminal law. A time bar removes that possibility for the class of offences where the public interest in a conviction is smallest.
But a rigid bar produces its own injustice, because a victim may not have known of the offence, or of who committed it, or may have spent the time obtaining a sanction. So the chapter has three layers: the periods in section 514, the postponed starting points and exclusions in sections 515 to 518, and finally the general power of extension in section 519 for a delay properly explained or where extension is necessary in the interests of justice.
Some words this chapter uses
Period of limitation, by section 513, means the period specified in section 514 for taking cognizance of an offence.
Cognizance is the Court's act of taking notice of the offence, not the filing of the complaint.
A continuing offence is one that goes on from moment to moment, as distinct from one committed once and over.
Sections 513 and 514: the bar and the periods
Section 513, the definition. "Period of limitation" means the period specified in section 514 for taking cognizance of an offence.
Section 514(1), the bar. Except as otherwise provided in this Sanhita, no Court shall take cognizance of an offence of the category specified in sub-section (2) after the expiry of the period of limitation.
Sub-section (2), the three periods.
(a) six months, if the offence is punishable with fine only; (b) one year, if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year; (c) three years, if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for a term exceeding one year but not exceeding three years.
Limitation for Taking Cognizance
Sub-section (3), offences tried together. The period, in relation to offences which may be tried together, is determined with reference to the offence punishable with the more severe, or the most severe, punishment.
Explanation, and it is new. For computing the period, the relevant date shall be the date of filing the complaint under section 223 or the date of recording of information under section 173.
That Explanation settles what used to be argued. The clock stops when the complainant files or the information is recorded, not when the Magistrate gets round to applying his mind.
Sections 515 to 518: when the clock starts, and what stops it
Section 515(1), commencement. The period, in relation to an offender, commences:
(a) on the date of the offence; or (b) where the commission of the offence was not known to the person aggrieved or to any police officer, on the first day on which it comes to the knowledge of that person or of any police officer, whichever is earlier; or (c) where it is not known by whom the offence was committed, on the first day on which the identity of the offender is known to the person aggrieved or to the police officer making the investigation, whichever is earlier.
Sub-section (2). In computing the period, the day from which it is to be computed shall be excluded.
Section 516, exclusions.
Sub-section (1), another prosecution. The time during which a person has been prosecuting with due diligence another prosecution against the offender, whether at first instance or in appeal or revision, shall be excluded. Proviso: only where that prosecution relates to the same facts and was prosecuted in good faith in a Court which, from defect of jurisdiction or other cause of a like nature, was unable to entertain it.
Sub-section (2), a stay. Where the institution of the prosecution has been stayed by an injunction or order, the period of its continuance, the day it was issued, and the day it was withdrawn, shall be excluded.
Sub-section (3), notice, consent or sanction. Where notice of prosecution has been given, or where a law requires the previous consent or sanction of the Government or any other authority, the period of the notice, or the time required for obtaining the consent or sanction, shall be excluded.
Explanation. In computing that time, the date of the application and the date of receipt of the order shall both be excluded.
Limitation for Taking Cognizance
Sub-section (4), the absent or absconding offender. The time during which the offender: (a) has been absent from India, or from any territory outside India under the administration of the Central Government; or (b) has avoided arrest by absconding or concealing himself, shall be excluded.
Section 517, closed court. Where the period expires on a day when the Court is closed, the Court may take cognizance on the day the Court reopens. Explanation: a Court is deemed closed on a day if, during its normal working hours, it remains closed on that day.
Section 518, continuing offence. In the case of a continuing offence, a fresh period of limitation shall begin to run at every moment of the time during which the offence continues.
Section 519: extension
Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this Chapter, any Court may take cognizance of an offence after the expiry of the period of limitation, if it is satisfied on the facts and in the circumstances of the case that the delay has been properly explained, or that it is necessary so to do in the interests of justice.
Two grounds, and either suffices. Delay properly explained, which looks at the complainant's conduct, and necessary in the interests of justice, which does not depend on any explanation at all.
A worked example
A complaint is filed alleging an offence punishable with imprisonment up to two years.
What is the period? Three years, section 514(2)(c), because the punishment exceeds one year but does not exceed three.
From when? From the date of the offence, section 515(1)(a), and the day from which it runs is excluded, sub-section (2).
The complainant learned of the offence only a year later. Then the period runs from the first day the offence came to the knowledge of the person aggrieved or of any police officer, whichever is earlier, clause (b).
He knew of the offence but not who had done it. Then from the first day the offender's identity was known to him or to the investigating officer, whichever is earlier, clause (c).
The complaint was filed in time but the Magistrate takes cognizance months later. The complaint is not barred: the relevant date is the date of filing under section 223, Explanation to section 514.
Two offences are charged together, one carrying two years and one carrying five. The period is determined by the offence with the more severe punishment, section 514(3), and an offence punishable with five years is outside the chapter altogether, so no limitation applies.
Limitation for Taking Cognizance
A prosecution on the same facts had been filed in a Court that turned out to have no jurisdiction. That time is excluded, if it was prosecuted with due diligence and in good faith and the Court could not entertain it from defect of jurisdiction or a cause of a like nature, section 516(1).
A sanction had to be obtained. The time required to obtain it is excluded, and both the date of the application and the date of receipt of the order are left out, section 516(3) and its Explanation.
The accused was abroad, and then absconded. Both periods are excluded, section 516(4).
The last day falls on a court holiday. Cognizance may be taken on the day the Court reopens, section 517.
The offence is a continuing one. A fresh period begins at every moment during which it continues, section 518, so limitation is in practice no obstacle.
And the period has expired with none of this to help. The Court may still take cognizance if satisfied that the delay has been properly explained, or that it is necessary in the interests of justice, section 519.
Distinctions
| Punishment for the offence | Period of limitation |
|---|---|
| Fine only | Six months |
| Imprisonment not exceeding one year | One year |
| Imprisonment exceeding one year but not exceeding three years | Three years |
| Imprisonment exceeding three years | None: the Chapter does not apply |
| When does the period start, section 515(1)? | |
|---|---|
| Ordinarily | The date of the offence |
| Offence not known to the aggrieved person or any police officer | The first day it comes to the knowledge of either, whichever is earlier |
| Offender's identity not known | The first day the identity is known to the aggrieved person or the investigating officer, whichever is earlier |
| Time excluded under section 516 | |
|---|---|
| (1) Another prosecution on the same facts, prosecuted with due diligence and in good faith, in a Court unable to entertain it | |
| (2) The continuance of an injunction or order staying the prosecution, with both terminal days | |
| (3) The period of a notice of prosecution, or the time to obtain a consent or sanction, with both terminal days | |
| (4) The offender's absence from India or from a Central Government administered territory, and time spent absconding or concealing himself |
What this does NOT mean
Limitation does not apply to every offence. Only to the three categories in section 514(2); an offence punishable with more than three years has none.
The bar does not run against the complainant. Section 514(1) prohibits the Court from taking cognizance, and the Explanation fixes the relevant date at the filing of the complaint or the recording of the information.
Limitation for Taking Cognizance
The period does not always start at the offence. Sections 515(1)(b) and (c) postpone it to knowledge of the offence or of the offender.
A continuing offence is not saved by delay. Section 518 starts a fresh period at every moment it continues.
And expiry is not the end. Section 519 lets any Court take cognizance out of time where the delay is properly explained or it is necessary in the interests of justice.
Quick revision
- 513: "period of limitation" is the period in section 514.
- 514: no Court shall take cognizance after expiry; six months for fine only, one year for imprisonment up to one year, three years for imprisonment over one and up to three years; offences triable together take the period of the most severely punishable; the relevant date is the filing of the complaint under s.223 or the recording of information under s.173.
- 515: the period runs from the date of the offence, or from knowledge of the offence, or from knowledge of the offender's identity, in each case to the aggrieved person or a police officer, whichever is earlier; the first day is excluded.
- 516: exclude time spent prosecuting the same facts in good faith in a Court that could not entertain it; the period of a stay; the period of a notice or of obtaining a consent or sanction, with both terminal days; and time the offender was out of India or absconding or concealing himself.
- 517: where the period ends on a day the Court is closed, cognizance may be taken on the day it reopens.
- 518: a continuing offence starts a fresh period at every moment.
- 519: any Court may take cognizance after expiry where the delay is properly explained or it is necessary in the interests of justice.
Test yourself
1. What are the three periods of limitation? Six months for an offence punishable with fine only; one year where the imprisonment does not exceed one year; and three years where it exceeds one year but does not exceed three, section 514(2).
2. Is there any limitation for an offence punishable with five years? No. The Chapter applies only to the categories in section 514(2), and an offence punishable with more than three years is outside it.
3. What is the relevant date for computing the period? The date of filing the complaint under section 223, or the date of recording of information under section 173, per the Explanation to section 514.
4. When does the period start where the victim did not know of the offence? On the first day the offence comes to the knowledge of the person aggrieved or of any police officer, whichever is earlier, section 515(1)(b).
Limitation for Taking Cognizance
5. Is the time spent obtaining a sanction counted? No. Section 516(3) excludes the time required to obtain a consent or sanction, and the Explanation excludes both the date of the application and the date of receipt of the order.
6. What is the position for a continuing offence? A fresh period of limitation begins to run at every moment of the time during which the offence continues, section 518.
7. Can a Court take cognizance after the period has expired? Yes. Section 519 permits any Court to do so if satisfied that the delay has been properly explained or that it is necessary in the interests of justice.
The rest of this subject
These notes are cut from the University's printed syllabus. Open the syllabus itself, or the past papers, for the same subject.