Under the Limitation Act, 1963, which Article will apply where the purchaser seeks only refund of the advance amount paid under an agreement for sale?

Article 113, the residuary provision, which prescribes three years from the date when the right to sue accrues. A suit for specific performance of an agreement of sale is governed by Article 54, and where the agreement holder choses to confine his relief and seek only for refund of the advance amount the claim is contractual in nature. Articles 61 to 67, which specifically deal with claims pertaining to immovable property, apply only where a completed sale has created a proprietory right, and a contractual claim cannot be brought within them merely because the subject matter of the contract is an immovable property.

Limitation Act, 1963 — Article 54 — Article 62 — Article 113 — Transfer of Property Act, 1882 — s.54 — s.55(6)(b) — Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 — Order VII Rule 11 — Refund of advance amount — Contractual right and proprietory right — Transfer of Property Act, 1882 — s.54 — Agreement for sale — Contractual right, not proprietory right — Held: An agreement for sale creates a contractual right and a completed sale creates a proprietory right, and the Scheme of the Act clearly makes a distinction between the contractual claims and proprietory claims. (¶16, 20) Limitation Act, 1963 — Article 62 — Charge upon immovable property — Presupposes existence of a charge — Held further: Article 62 presupposes the existence of a charge and prescribes limitation not for creating a security but for enforcing the security; it cannot be made applicable to enlarge the limitation period where the cause of action is traceable to a contract. (¶17, 19) Limitation Act, 1963 — Article 113 — Refund of advance amount — Three years from the right to sue — Held further: Where the purchaser seeks only refund of the advance amount, the claim is contractual in nature and the residuary Article 113 will apply, three years from the date when the right to sue accrues. (¶20) Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 — Order VII Rule 11 — Rejection of plaint — Bar of limitation evident on the plaint — Held further: Where a plain reading of the averments made in the plaint shows the suit to be hopelessly barred by limitation, the Court can reject the plaint without the rigmarole of a trial. Civil Revision Petition allowed. (¶21, 23)

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