Chapter XXXVIII: Limitation for Taking Cognizance of Certain Offences
This chapter is the “statute of limitations” for criminal cases. It sets a deadline by which a court must start a case (take cognizance) for less serious offences.
Section 513: Definitions
- What it says (in plain English): For this chapter, when the law says “period of limitation,” it means the deadline specified in Section 514.
- Real-world Example: This is just a definition. It means “the deadline is the deadline.”
Section 514: Bar to taking cognizance after lapse of period of limitation
This is the main rule that sets the deadlines.
- Sub-section (1):
- What it says (in plain English): A court is barred from taking cognizance of (i.e., starting) a case for the offences listed in sub-section (2) after the deadline has expired.
- Sub-section (2):
- What it says (in plain English): The deadlines are:
- (a) Six months: for any offence punishable only with a fine.
- (b) One year: for any offence punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year.
- (c) Three years: for any offence punishable with imprisonment for a term exceeding one year but not exceeding three years.
- Real-world Example (a): The offence of public nuisance (Section 292 BNS) is punishable only with a fine. A complaint must be filed within six months of the incident.
- Real-world Example (b): The offence of simple assault (Section 131 BNS) is punishable with 3 months imprisonment. A complaint must be filed within one year.
- Real-world Example (c): The offence of simple theft (Section 303(2) BNS) is punishable with up to 5 years (Note: This section might be an error in the user’s provided PDF text, as 5 years would not fit this clause. Assuming a 3-year offence like cheating, Sec 318(2)): The complaint must be filed within three years.
- Important Note: This limitation does not apply to any serious offence punishable with imprisonment for more than three years (like murder, rape, robbery, etc.). There is no statute of limitations for those crimes.
- What it says (in plain English): The deadlines are:
- Sub-section (3):
- What it says (in plain English): If a person is accused of multiple offences in the same incident, the deadline for all of them is the one that applies to the most serious offence.
- Real-world Example: A person commits simple assault (1-year limit) and also cheating (3-year limit) in the same transaction. The police can file the case for both offences at any time up to the 3-year deadline.
- Explanation:
- What it says (in plain English): The limitation period is “stopped” on the date the complaint is formally filed with the Magistrate or the date the First Information Report (FIR) is recorded by the police.
- Real-world Example: A theft (3-year limit) happens on January 1, 2024. The victim files an FIR on December 30, 2026. The case is not barred by limitation, because the FIR was filed within the 3-year period. It doesn’t matter if the trial starts in 2027.
Section 515: Commencement of period of limitation
This section explains when the clock starts ticking on the deadline.
- Sub-section (1):
- What it says (in plain English): The clock starts on:
- (a) The date the offence was committed (the default); OR
- (b) The date the victim or any police officer first found out about the crime (if it was hidden); OR
- (c) The date the victim or the investigating police first identified who the offender was (if the offender was unknown).
- Real-world Example (b): An employee has been embezzling money (a “hidden” crime) for years. The company discovers the fraud during an audit on May 1, 2024. The 3-year limitation clock starts on May 1, 2024, not when the first act of embezzlement happened.
- Real-world Example (c): A person is injured in a hit-and-run on January 1, 2024 (1-year limit). The driver is unknown. Police identify the driver from CCTV footage on June 1, 2024. The 1-year clock starts on June 1, 2024, not on the date of the accident.
- What it says (in plain English): The clock starts on:
- Sub-section (2):
- What it says (in plain English): When counting the days for the deadline, the day the clock starts is excluded.
- Real-world Example: If the 6-month clock starts on January 1, the first day of counting is January 2.
Section 516: Exclusion of time in certain cases
This section lists periods of time that are “excluded” from the count, effectively pausing the clock.
- Sub-section (1):
- What it says (in plain English): The clock is paused for any time the victim/prosecution was “prosecuting with due diligence” the same case in the wrong court (a court that didn’t have jurisdiction).
- Real-world Example: A victim files an assault complaint (1-year limit) in a Delhi court, 6 months after the crime. The case runs for 8 months before the court rules it has no jurisdiction and the case belongs in a Gurgaon court. The 8 months spent in the Delhi court do not count toward the 1-year limit.
- Sub-section (2):
- What it says (in plain English): The clock is paused for any period during which the case was “stayed” by an injunction or order from another court.
- Real-world Example: A High Court issues a “stay order” on an investigation for 4 months. Those 4 months do not count towards the limitation period.
- Sub-section (3):
- What it says (in plain English): The clock is paused for the time it takes to get “previous consent or sanction” from the Government or another authority, which is required for certain prosecutions (like prosecuting a public servant).
- Explanation: This clarifies that the “excluded” time starts from the date the application for sanction was made and ends on the date the order (approving or denying) is received.
- Real-world Example: To prosecute a public servant, police must get government sanction. The 3-year limit is approaching. They apply for sanction on January 1. The government takes 5 months to grant it, returning the file on June 1. Those 5 months do not count towards the 3-year deadline.
- Sub-section (4):
- What it says (in plain English): The clock is paused for any time the offender:
- (a) has been absent from India.
- (b) has avoided arrest by “absconding or concealing himself.”
- Real-world Example: A person commits cheating (3-year limit) and immediately flees to Dubai for 5 years. The 3-year clock does not run while he is abroad. When he returns, the clock starts (or resumes). He cannot claim the case is too old.
- What it says (in plain English): The clock is paused for any time the offender:
Section 517: Exclusion of date on which Court is closed
- What it says (in plain English): If the deadline (the last day to file) falls on a day the court is closed (like a Sunday, a public holiday, or a local holiday), the case can be filed on the very next day the court reopens.
- Explanation: A court is “closed” if it’s not open during its normal working hours.
- Real-world Example: The 1-year deadline for an assault case expires on a Saturday, when the Magistrate’s court is closed. The following Sunday is also a holiday. The victim can file the complaint on Monday, and it will be considered “on time.”
Section 518: Continuing offence
- What it says (in plain English): For a “continuing offence,” a fresh limitation period begins to run at every moment the offence continues.
- Real-world Example: A factory is illegally polluting a river. This is a “continuing offence.” The factory owner cannot argue that the 1-year limitation period started (and expired) a year after he first started polluting. Because the offence continues today, a fresh 1-year limitation period also starts today.
Section 519: Extension of period of limitation in certain cases
This is the court’s special power to override the deadline.
- What it says (in plain English): A court can still take cognizance of a case after the deadline has expired, but only if it is satisfied that:
- The delay has been “properly explained” (the person had a very good reason); OR
- It is “necessary so to do in the interests of justice.”
- Real-world Example: A victim of an offence (with a 1-year limit) was in a coma for 14 months after the attack. She files the complaint 15 months after the incident. She also files an application explaining the delay with her medical records. The Magistrate, seeing the delay is “properly explained,” will use this section to extend the period and allow the case to proceed.
