Karnataka High Court Issues Circular Directing Officers To Follow Supreme Court's Limitation Extension Order

Supreme Court in Miscellaneous Application No.21/2022 in Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No.3/2020, has directed that the period from 15.03.2020 till 28.02.2022 shall stand excluded for the purposes of limitation as may be prescribed under any general or special laws in respect of all judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings.

The circular states, "Hence, all the Officers and Officials working on judicial side at Principal Bench, Bengaluru, Benches at Dharwad and Kalaburagi are hereby directed to follow the directions passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, vide Order dated 10.01.2022 in Miscellaneous Application No.21/2022, in Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No.3/2020."

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justice L Nageswara Rao and Justice Surya Kant had passed the order on an application filed by the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) in the suo motu case In Re Cognizance for Extension of Limitation.

It was on March 23, 2020 that the Supreme Court ordered the extension of limitation for the first time after taking suo motu cognizance of the Covid-19 situation. Noticing that the country was returning to normalcy, the Supreme Court had on March 8, 2021, ended the extension of limitation with effect from 14.03.2021, observing that the COVID-19 situation has improved.

However, the orders were revived in the wake of the second wave of Covid-19 in April 2021. The same was withdrawn by order dated September 23, 2021, with effect from October 2, 2021, after noting that normalcy was returning.

Click Here To Read/Download Circular