Section 15 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Section 15 lists five situations in which time is left out when the period of limitation is counted. They are a stay by injunction or order, a notice period or the time to get consent or sanction, the early months of a receiver's or liquidator's appointment, a proceeding to set aside an execution sale, and the defendant's absence from India.
This article follows the consolidated text of the Act consulted (latest amendment shown: Act 46 of 1999). Later amendments should be checked before you rely on it.
Section 15 excludes: (1) the time an injunction or order stayed the institution of a suit or execution of a decree, with the day it was issued and the day it was withdrawn; (2) the notice period, or the time to obtain consent or sanction; (3) for a receiver or liquidator, the time from the start of the insolvency or winding-up proceeding to three months after appointment; (4) the time spent setting aside an execution sale; and (5) the time the defendant was absent from India.
Section 15(1): injunction or stay
Section 15(1) reads: "In computing the period of limitation of any suit or application for the execution of a decree, the institution or execution of which has been stayed by injunction or order, the time of the continuance of the injunction or order, the day on which it was issued or made, and the day on which it was withdrawn, shall be excluded."
Three things are excluded:
- The time the injunction or order continued.
- The day it was issued or made.
- The day it was withdrawn.
It applies to a suit or an application for execution whose institution or execution was stayed. A date illustration with invented facts: Rohit Metals could sue from 1 February 2025, and a stay order stopped the institution of its suit from 1 May 2025 until the order was withdrawn on 30 June 2025. The time from 1 May to 30 June 2025, with both end days, is excluded. The days before 1 May and after 30 June count in the ordinary way.
Section 15(2): notice, consent or sanction
Section 15(2) reads: "In computing the period of limitation for any suit of which notice has been given, or for which the previous consent or sanction of the Government or any other authority is required, in accordance with the requirements of any law for the time being in force, the period of such notice or, as the case may be, the time required for obtaining such consent or sanction shall be excluded."
| Case | What is excluded |
|---|---|
| A suit of which notice has been given, as required by a law in force | The period of the notice |
| A suit for which previous consent or sanction of the Government or any other authority is required by a law in force | The time required for obtaining the consent or sanction |
The section does not name any particular law that requires notice or sanction, so the reader has to look to the law concerned. The Act does not itself say that a notice is required.
If you are considering a suit where a notice must go first, a recovery suit consultation helps you set the dates for the notice and the filing together.
The Explanation
The Explanation to sub-section (2) says: "In excluding the time required for obtaining the consent or sanction of the Government or any other authority, the date on which the application was made for obtaining the consent or sanction and the date of receipt of the order of the Government or other authority shall both be counted."
So for consent or sanction, the date of the application and the date of receipt of the order are both counted within the excluded time. The Explanation speaks of consent or sanction only; it does not mention the notice period.
Section 15(3): receiver or liquidator
Section 15(3) reads: "In computing the period of limitation for any suit or application for execution of a decree by any receiver or interim receiver appointed in proceedings for the adjudication of a person as an insolvent or by any liquidator or provisional liquidator appointed in proceedings for the winding up of a company, the period beginning with the date of institution of such proceeding and ending with the expiry of three months from the date of appointment of such receiver or liquidator, as the case may be, shall be excluded."
The elements are:
- The suit or application is by a receiver or interim receiver appointed in proceedings for adjudging a person insolvent, or by a liquidator or provisional liquidator appointed in proceedings for winding up a company.
- The excluded period begins on the date the proceeding was instituted and ends three months after the date of appointment of the receiver or liquidator.
Example: a winding-up petition is instituted on 1 January 2026 and a liquidator is appointed on 1 March 2026. The excluded period runs from 1 January 2026 until the end of three months from 1 March 2026, that is, to 1 June 2026, as the text says "the expiry of three months from the date of appointment". This provision sits in the Limitation Act, and it does not set the period for a claim under any insolvency or company law. Those laws carry their own periods; see our post on trade receivables under CIRP and limitation for one such setting.
Section 15(4): suit by a purchaser at an execution sale
Section 15(4) says that in computing the period of limitation for a suit for possession by a purchaser at a sale in execution of a decree, the time during which a proceeding to set aside the sale has been prosecuted shall be excluded.
The sub-section covers a suit for possession by the purchaser at the execution sale. The time spent on a proceeding to set the sale aside is left out. The text does not say who must have brought the proceeding to set aside the sale.
Section 15(5): defendant absent from India
Section 15(5) says that in computing the period of limitation for any suit, the time during which the defendant has been absent from India and from the territories outside India under the administration of the Central Government shall be excluded.
This is wide in one respect: it applies to any suit. It is narrow in another: it speaks of the defendant's absence from India and from those territories. An illustration: Prakash Exports could sue Sumit, an individual, from 1 March 2024. Sumit is away from India and those territories from 1 June 2024 to 31 December 2024. The time of that absence is excluded in counting the period for the suit.
The text does not say anything about how the absence is to be shown, and this article does not add rules about proof.
Summary table
| Sub-section | Subject | Excluded |
|---|---|---|
| 15(1) | Suit or execution stayed by injunction or order | Time of the stay, plus the day issued and the day withdrawn |
| 15(2) | Suit after notice, or needing consent or sanction | Notice period; time to obtain consent or sanction (both end dates counted) |
| 15(3) | Receiver, interim receiver, liquidator, provisional liquidator | From institution of the proceeding to three months after appointment |
| 15(4) | Possession suit by purchaser at execution sale | Time a proceeding to set aside the sale was prosecuted |
| 15(5) | Any suit | Time the defendant was absent from India and the specified territories |
How section 15 fits with the rest of the Act
Section 15 is among the provisions of Part III on computation. It adds to the exclusions in sections 12 and 13 and section 14. The exclusions in these sections work together, and each one is applied on its own words.
Section 29(2) lets a special or local law fix its own period and applies sections 4 to 24 to it only so far as that law does not expressly exclude them. Never apply a Schedule period to a tax, insolvency, company, arbitration, consumer, MSME or cheque dishonour proceeding; check the special law and the notice it requires.
For the notice itself, see our guide to legal notice format and drafting.
Need help with a claim that needs a notice or sanction first?
Where the law requires a notice or sanction before a suit, the order of the steps and the dates matter. We can help you plan them through a recovery suit consultation before any filing.
Key takeaways
- Section 15(1) excludes the time of a stay by injunction or order, the day issued and the day withdrawn.
- Section 15(2) excludes the notice period or the time to obtain consent or sanction; for consent or sanction both end dates are counted.
- Section 15(3) excludes, for a receiver or liquidator, the time from institution of the proceeding to three months after appointment.
- Section 15(4) excludes time spent setting aside an execution sale, for the purchaser's suit for possession.
- Section 15(5) excludes the defendant's absence from India and the specified territories.
- A special or local law may fix a different period (section 29(2)).
Read next
- Section 14: exclusion of time spent in a court without jurisdiction
- Section 16: effect of death before the right to sue accrues
- Sections 12–13: exclusion of the day of judgment, copy time and pauper application
- Legal notice: format, requirements and drafting tips
Disclaimer: Based on a consolidated text of the Limitation Act, 1963 and its Schedule whose latest amendment shown is Act 46 of 1999, as consulted on 2 October 2026. A special or local law may fix a different period; later amendments and the current procedural law should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.