In Brief
The appellant's predecessor obtained a declaratory decree in 1963 regarding ancestral property based on a compromise, conditional on the death of a life holder. The formal decree sheet was drawn in 1972. After failed execution attempts, the predecessor filed a suit for possession in 1974. The High Court dismissed the suit as barred by limitation, computing the three-year period from the life holder's death in 1971. The Supreme Court reversed the High Court, holding that 'the declaratory decree is obtained' means when the decree sheet is formally drawn (1972), not when judgment is pronounced (1963). The suit filed in 1974 was therefore within the three-year period. The Court also held Section 14 of the 1963 Act applies to exclude time spent in bona fide execution proceedings.
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