Section 14 — Exclusion of time of proceeding

 

 

Section 14 — Exclusion of time of proceeding bona fide in court without jurisdiction

This section allows a person to exclude (i.e., not count) the time spent in pursuing a legal proceeding in good faith in a court that ultimately turns out to lack jurisdiction (or is otherwise unable to entertain the matter), when computing the limitation period for filing a fresh case.

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Breakdown of the section

Let’s break it down simply:

✅ If a person pursues a civil proceeding (whether in a court or before an authority),
✅ With due diligence (i.e., they acted sincerely, not negligently),
✅ And in good faith (they honestly believed the court had the authority),
✅ But that proceeding fails due to lack of jurisdiction or similar reason,
✅ Then the time spent in that proceeding is excluded when calculating the limitation period for filing the new suit or application.

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Purpose

The purpose is to protect parties who acted in good faith but lost time because they chose the wrong forum or court. It ensures they are not penalized for a technical defect.

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Example

Suppose:

• Limitation period for a suit = 3 years.

• You filed a suit in Court A, believing it had jurisdiction.

• You spend 1.5 years there, but the court ultimately says, “Sorry, we don’t have jurisdiction.”

• You then file in the correct Court B.

Without Section 14: You’d only have 1.5 years left; if the 3 years expired, you’d be barred.

With Section 14: The 1.5 years spent in Court A is excluded from the count, so you still get the full balance.

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Important points

• Only applies to civil proceedings (not criminal or other matters).

• The earlier proceeding must have been defective due to jurisdiction or similar issue.

• The party must have acted with due diligence and in good faith.

• It does not cover cases where the earlier suit failed on merits.

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Text of Section 14 (simplified)

Section 14(1): Exclude the time spent in the former civil proceeding where the proceeding was related to the same matter and failed due to lack of jurisdiction or other similar cause.
Section 14(2): Similarly, exclude the time spent in a prior application to the wrong court when filing a new application.