M/S BHAGWANDAS B. RAMCHANDANI versus BRITISH AIRWAYS

Citation: [2022] 11 S.C.R. 539 · Decided: 29-07-2022 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: K.M. JOSEPH · Disposal: Dismissed

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Judgment (excerpt)

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   [2022] 11 S.C.R. 539
539
M/s BHAGWANDAS B. RAMCHANDANI
v.
BRITISH AIRWAYS
(Civil Appeal No. 4978 of 2022)
JULY 29, 2022
[K. M. JOSEPH AND
PAMIDIGHANTAM SRI NARASIMHA, JJ.]
Air Act, 1972 – Rule 30 – Limitation Act, 1963 – ss. 3, 29,
schedule – Does Limitation Act, 1963 apply to the period specified
in Rule 30 of the Second Schedule of the Carriage by Air Act, 1972
– Held: Rule 30 of the Second Schedule provides that the right to
damages will be extinguished if an action is not brought within a
period of two years from the dates mentioned in the rule –When
statutes are enacted to give effect to a treaty or convention, Articles
31 and 32 of the Vienna Convention becomes relevant for
interpretation of such statutes – Courts of law must endeavor to
maintain a uniformity of interpretation with courts of other
jurisdictions while interpreting international treaties and
conventions – The expressions, ‘right’ and ‘extinguished’ employed
by the Convention as adopted and incorporated by the Parliament
in Rule 30 of the Second Schedule clearly establishes the intention
of the law-giver that the right to damages would not subsist after
the expiry of the period mentioned therein – The expression in Rule
30(2) calculating the period of limitation is synonymous to the
expression computation of period of limitation provided in Part-III
of the Limitation Act, 1963 – High Courts (Delhi, Bombay and
Madras) across the country have also taken a similar view that the
Limitation Act will be excluded from operation for a claim under
Air Act – In view of the consistent interpretation of Article 29 of the
Convention adopted in different jurisdictions, for the purpose of
uniformity and also to subserve the purpose and object of the
Convention, this Court is of the view that Rule 30 (2) does not enable
applicability of exclusion of periods for the purpose of reckoning
the period of two years.
Limitation Act, 1963 – s. 29 – Whether the Air Act, 1972,
particularly Rule 30 of the Second Schedule expressly excludes the
applicability of the Limitation Act, 1963? Held: Where a period of
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2022] 11 S.C.R.
Limitation is prescribed in a special law, by virtue of Section 29 of
the Limitation Act, such period will apply as if it was provided in the
Schedule of the Limitation Act - Sub-Rule (2) of rule 30 must therefore
be interpreted harmoniously keeping in mind not only the content
of Sub-Rule (1) but also the purpose and object of the Convention
which is to bring about the unification of Rules relating to
International Carriage by Air - Rule 30 of the Carriage by Air Act
1972, expressly excludes the applicability of the Limitation Act,1963.
Dismissing the appeal, the Court
HELD :
Does Limitation Act, 1963 apply to the period specified in
Rule 30 of the Second Schedule of the Carriage by Air Act, 1972?
1. It is to be noticed that matters concerning the
international carriage of persons, baggage, or cargo performed
by aircraft for reward are the subject matter of International
Conventions. These are incorporated into our laws through the
Schedules to the Air Act, 1972. Section 3 of the Air Act, 1972
incorporates the Warsaw Convention, 1929 into the First Schedule
and specifically provides that it shall have the status of law in
India. Section 4 incorporates the Hague Protocol dated 28.09.1955
and provisions it in the Second Schedule and gives it the status
of law in India. Similarly, Section 4A brought into force in 2009
for giving effect to the Montréal Convention, 1999 incorporates
it in the Third Schedule to the Act and gives it the status of law in
India. [Para 10][552-F-G; 553-A-B]
2. The procedural law governing the institution and
adjudication of civil suits in India includes the Civil Procedure
Code,1908 as well as the Limitation Act, 1963. The Limitation
Act is a branch of adjectival law, and applies to all proceedings
which it governs from the date of its enactment. There is however
a well-established principle, which states that when the right itself
is extinguished, the provisions relating to limitation have no
application. A direct example where the right itself is
extinguished, can be evidenced in Section 11 as well as Section
27 of the Limitation Act, 1963. Section 11 deals with suits filed in
India with respect to contracts entered in foreign countries.
Following the Principle of lex fori, the Section provides that rules
of limitation provided in a foreign jurisdiction are not 

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