Consolidated Engineering Enterprises v Principal Secretary, Irrigation Department (2008)

CPC & Limitation Act · Adverse Possession, Extinguishment of Right (s.27) & Distinction from Estoppel

Facts.

A party had spent time prosecuting a proceeding in a forum that turned out to be unable to entertain it, and sought to exclude that time in computing limitation.

Issue.

Should s.14 (exclusion of time spent bona fide before a court unable to entertain the matter) be read strictly or liberally?

Held.

Section 14 is to be construed liberally to advance justice; time spent prosecuting, in good faith and with due diligence, a proceeding before a court that could not entertain it “from defect of jurisdiction or other cause of a like nature” must be excluded.

Why it matters.

The modern authority on the exclusion of “wrong-forum” time under s.14 in computing limitation (Topic 4).

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