The Supreme Court’s suo motu extension of limitation was the single most consequential procedural order of the pandemic — and it did not end when it was first lifted. It was lifted in March 2021, revived weeks later during the second wave, and finally closed in January 2022. Here is the whole sequence, and the rule that ultimately applied.
How it began
To relieve lawyers and litigants during the nationwide lockdown, the Supreme Court, on 23 March 2020, passed an order in In Re: Cognizance for Extension of Limitation granting an indefinite extension of the limitation period in all proceedings — irrespective of the limitation prescribed under general or special laws, and whether or not condonable — with effect from 15 March 2020. The CGPDTM and the Delhi High Court followed with orders of their own; we covered that timeline in our earlier note on the extension of deadlines.
The 8 March 2021 order lifting it
On 3 March 2021 the Court indicated it proposed to lift the suo motu extension, and on 8 March 2021 it passed the order ending it. The directions were:
- In computing limitation for any suit, appeal, application or proceeding, the period from 15 March 2020 to 14 March 2021 stands excluded. The balance period of limitation remaining as on 15 March 2020 became available from 15 March 2021.
- Where limitation would have expired between 15 March 2020 and 14 March 2021, all persons got 90 days from 15 March 2021, regardless of the actual balance remaining — and where the actual balance was longer than 90 days, the longer period applied.
- The same exclusion applied to periods under Sections 23(4) and 29A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, provisos (b) and (c) to Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and any other law prescribing limitation periods, outer limits for condonation of delay, or termination of proceedings.
- The Court directed the Government of India to amend the containment-zone guidelines to permit movement for medical emergencies, essential goods and services, and other necessary functions including time-bound legal applications.
The practical effect was that parties had at least until 13 June 2021 — 90 days from 15 March 2021 — to complete necessary filings.
Then the second wave
The reprieve was short. On 27 April 2021, in light of the devastating second wave, the Supreme Court restored the extension of limitation with effect from 14 March 2021, until further orders. Everything that had been about to run out was suspended again.
How it finally ended
The Court closed the matter by its order of 10 January 2022. The final position:
- the period from 15 March 2020 to 28 February 2022 stands excluded in computing limitation for all proceedings;
- from 1 March 2022, the balance period of limitation becomes available; and
- where the balance was less than 90 days, a period of 90 days from 1 March 2022 applies — i.e. until roughly 30 May 2022.
The same exclusion again covered the Arbitration Act, Commercial Courts Act and Negotiable Instruments Act provisions listed in the earlier order.
Why it mattered for IP practice
The warning given when the extension was first lifted proved well founded, and applied again in 2022. The deadline locks in the online filing systems of the CGPDTM and the Copyright Office had been removed after the original extension order — and were liable to re-engage once the grace period expired. Given how IP office systems behave in practice, the sensible course was never to run to the last permitted day but to plan filings and submissions well inside the window.
That remains the durable lesson. The exclusion is now history, and ordinary limitation has applied since 2022 — but the episode is still the reference point whenever a filing period is disputed for anything pending between 15 March 2020 and 28 February 2022.
The takeaways
- The final exclusion ran 15 March 2020 to 28 February 2022 — not the March 2021 cut-off first announced.
- 90 days from 1 March 2022 applied where the remaining balance was shorter.
- It covered arbitration, commercial-court and NI Act timelines too — not only ordinary limitation.
- IP filing portals re-lock when grace periods lapse — never plan to file on the last day.
Frequently asked questions
What period is excluded from limitation because of COVID-19? By the Supreme Court’s final order of 10 January 2022, the period from 15 March 2020 to 28 February 2022 is excluded in computing limitation for all proceedings.
What happened if my limitation period expired during that window? A period of 90 days from 1 March 2022 was available where the remaining balance of limitation was shorter than 90 days; a longer balance period applied if it was longer.
Did the extension cover arbitration and cheque-bounce timelines? Yes — the orders expressly covered Sections 23(4) and 29A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, and provisos (b) and (c) to Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.
Is the extension still in force? No — it was closed by the order of 10 January 2022, and ordinary limitation has applied since 1 March 2022.