Commencement and Termination of Time; Computation of Time; Measurement of Distance (Sections 9, 10, 11)
# Sections 9, 10 and 11 — Time and Distance Rules
## Section 9 — Commencement and termination of time ('from' / 'to')
Where a Central Act or Regulation uses:
'from' a specified day → exclude the first day
'to' a specified day → include the last day
This fixes how date-ranges are read in statutes.
### Illustration
A company declares dividend at its AGM on 31 August 2019. Section 127 of the Companies Act, 2013 requires the dividend to be paid within 30 days from the date of declaration.
Start day (31/08/2019) is excluded
Counting begins from 01/09/2019
30-day window ends on 30/09/2019 (last day included)
➡ The payment must be made by 30 September 2019.
## Section 10 — Computation of time (court / office closed)
If any proceeding is to be done on a particular day or within a prescribed period, and the court or office is closed on that day (or the last day of the period), the proceeding shall be considered done in time if performed on the next working day.
Applies to:
Filing returns, appeals, applications
Statutory acts to be done within a deadline
### Important condition
The relevant office/court must be the one before which the act has to be done. Section 10 does not apply where the statute itself says 'time shall not be extended'.
## Section 11 — Measurement of distances
For any Central Act or Regulation, distance shall be measured in a straight line on a horizontal plane ('as the crow flies'), unless otherwise specified.
Ignore road curves, terrain, ascents, descents.
This is a default rule; specific Acts may prescribe otherwise (e.g., measurement along a particular route).
Worked example
### Example 1
Q: A 15-day notice is required 'from 1st March'. From which day do we start counting and what is the last day?
A: Under Section 9, 'from' excludes the first day, so counting starts on 2nd March. The 15th day is 16th March — that is the last day (included).
### Example 2
Q: The last day for filing an appeal is a Sunday on which the registry is closed. Can the appeal be filed on Monday?
A: Yes. Section 10 saves the filing — an act done on the next working day when the office is open is treated as done in time.
### Example 3
Q: A municipal bye-law prohibits running a liquor shop within 500 metres of a school. How is the distance measured?
A: Section 11 prescribes measurement in a straight line on a horizontal plane (aerial distance), unless the bye-law itself specifies measurement along the road.
⚠️ Common exam mistakes
Including the first day when 'from' is used, or excluding the last day when 'to' is used — the rule is the opposite.
Assuming Section 10 extends every deadline whenever a holiday intervenes — it only covers the situation where the office/court is closed on the specified day or the last day of the period.
Measuring statutory distances by road length when the Act is silent. The default under Section 11 is a straight horizontal-plane measurement.
Bare-Act text Sections 9, 10 and 11 · The General Clauses Act, 1897 · click to expand
Section 9: In any Central Act or Regulation made after the commencement of this Act, it shall be sufficient, for the purpose of excluding the first in a series of days or any other period of time, to use the word 'from', and, for the purpose of including the last in a series of days or any other period of time, to use the word 'to'.
Section 10: Where, by any Central Act or Regulation made after the commencement of this Act, any act or proceeding is directed or allowed to be done or taken in any Court or office on a certain day or within a prescribed period, then, if the Court or office is closed on that day or last day of the prescribed period, the act or proceeding shall be considered as done or taken in due time if it is done or taken on the next day afterwards on which the Court or office is open.
Section 11: In the measurement of any distance, for the purposes of any Central Act or Regulation made after the commencement of this Act, that distance shall, unless a different intention appears, be measured in a straight line on a horizontal plane.