Nani Gopal Paul v. T.

Prasad Singh
A research proposal submitted in partial fulfillment of the course Civil Procedure Code for
the requirement of degree of BA.LL.B(Hons.) for the Academic Session 2020-21
Civil Procedure Code

Researched & Submitted : Asession and Supervision :

Andlib Imrose Dr. Meeta Mohini
B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) Faculty: Civil Procedure
Code
3rd Year, 5th Semester CNLU,Patna
Roll no. 1915

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY,

PATNA
Introduction

Before filing any suit, one has to be considerate about the limitation period of doing so. The
Limitation Act, 1963 defined the “period of limitation” as “the period of limitation
prescribed for any suit, appeal or application by the Schedule, and “prescribed period”
means the period of limitation computed in accordance with the provisions of this Act”.1 The
definition given under the Act is very Act- oriented and does not convey the meaning of
limitation period. To explain in in simpler words it means that after an alleged breach of
contract or any civil wrong has been committed by a person, the time till which the affected
person can initiate a suit to ask for compensation for the damages suffered, is called the
limitation period.2 After the limitation period ends, no cause of action can be brought against
the same. The purpose of including such a provision is to give authenticity to the suits
instituted in the court of law, and also for the ease of submitting evidence.3

Since the ultimate aim of a court of law is to impart justice, sometimes the limitation period
creates a hinderance in the same. In the case of Nani Gopal Paul v. T. Prasad Singh,4 the
Supreme Court of India ruled that in case of a manifest illegality committed, the limitation
period could be overlooked and a suit would be allowed beyond it.5 The case has impacted
the jurisprudence surrounding the law of limitation immensely.

This article would be an attempt to analyse the same and weigh the impact of the Supreme
Court’s decision.

1
Section 2(j) of the Limitation Act, 1963.
2
ShamayemFasih, 2017. “Law of Limitation in India – Limitation Act, 1963”, iPleaders Blog.
3
Ibid.
4
1995 AIR 1971.
5
Ibid. at para. 4.
Aim and Objective

The aim of this research is to analyse the decision of the Supreme Court given in Nani Gopal
Paul v. T. Prasad Singh. Since the decision is almost 50 years old, the project would check if
the ratio given in the case is still relevant or whether it has been modified by subsequent
ruilings.

Research Question

Essentially, this research would be focussing on the following questions:

1. What is the importance of limitation period?

2. Whether the Supreme Court’s ruling in Nani Gopal Paul v. T. Prasad Singh was right
or wrong?
3. What is “manifestly illegal” and how the ratio of the decision has been influenced the
justice system?

Methodology

The researcher would adhere to doctrinal mode of research while carrying out the analysis. In
the course of the research, the researcher would refer to the decisions of the various courts,
law reporters, articles, research papers, books and even court decisions from other
jurisdictions. Needless to say, multiple statutory provisions and statues would also be referred
to while carrying out this research.

A huge amount of literature would be procured from online research sites like SCC Online
and Manupatra.
Chapterization

 Chapter I – Introduction

This chapter would give a brief overview of the topic, the concepts that the article would
cover and how the analysis has been divided into subsequent chapters.

 Chapter II –Background of the Case

For carrying out any a case-analysis, getting into the facts of the case is very important. In
this chapter, the author would delve into the facts of the case, especially the ones which had
given rise to the cause of action of the case.

 Chapter III – Decision of the Court and Legal Provisions

In this chapter, the author would talk about the ratio of the case. Meanwhile, the chapter
would also focus on the legal provisions in question before the Court.

 Chapter IV – The Analysis

This chapter would focus on how the Court’s decision has impacted the jurisprudence
surrounding the Limitation Act, 1963. This chapter would trace all subsequent major cases
where the ratio of the Court in the case at hand has been relied upon. This chapter would also
look into similar stand taken by the courts of other jurisdictions.

 Chapter V – Conclusion

This chapter would conclude the entire analysis done by the author in the preceding chapters.

Limitation

The research would be carried out by analysing only reportable cases of various courts. It
would also not be humanly possible to refer to all the cases in which the ratio of the Supreme
Court in Nani Gopal Paul v. T. Prasad Singhhas been referred. Therefore, only landmark
cases, preferably Supreme Court decisions would only be relied upon for the purposes of the
analysis and identifying the trend.
Bibliography

 India Kanoon
 iPleaders Blog
 Lexology
 Manupatra Research Database
 Mondaq
 SCC Online Research Database
 Supreme Court of India Website
 TaxGuru