Summarize the following court judgment. ivil Appeal No. 207 of 1984. From the Judgment and Order dated 12.3. 1982 of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Misc Civil Case No. 539 of 1981. Ranjit Kumar and Subhash Sharma for the Appellant. Prithvi Raj and S.K. Agnihotri for the Respondent. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by RANGANATH MISRA	 J. This appeal is by special leave and is directed against the judgment of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh by which the High Court has in second appeal upheld the dismissal of the plaintiff 's suit on the plea of limita tion. The plaintiff	 a Government servant of Madhya Pradesh	 was dismissed from service by the Collector on 13th of January	 1966. He preferred an appeal to the Divisional Commissioner and that appeal was dismissed on 31.8.1966. The order of dismissal of the appeal was communicated to the plaintiff on 19.9.1960. The plaintiff gave notice under s.80 of the Code of Civil Procedure on 17.6.1969 and filed his suit on 30th of September	 1969	 asking for a declaration that the order of dismissal was inoperative and he continued to be in service. This 46 suit has been dismissed in the Courts below on acceptance of the defence plea that it had not been filed within three years from the date when the cause of action first arose	 as required under Article 58 of the First Schedule of the . When this appeal came up for hearing before a Division Bench	 reliance was placed on the decision of this Court in Sita Ram Goel vs The Municipal Board	 Kanpur & Ors.	 ; in support of the contention that the suit was barred by limitation. The Division Bench extracted a passage from Goel 's judgment where it said: 'The result is no doubt unfortunate for the appellant	 because the trial court found in his favour in regard to his plea of wrongful dismissal. If he had only brought the suit within the period prescribed by section 326 of the Act	 he might possibly have got some relief from the Court. He	 however	 chose to wait till the decision of the State Govern ment on his appeal and overstepped the limit of time to his own detriment. We are unable to come to any other conclusion than the one reached above and the appeal must	 therefore	 stand dismissed; but in the peculiar circum stances of the case we make no order as to costs '	 and observed: "Such unfortunate results should be avoided	 if it is possible to do so. We are of the view that the decision in Sita Ram Goel 's case which has been decided by a Bench of five Judges requires to be reconsidered . . " (See That is how this appeal has come before the Seven Judge Bench. The plaintiff 's suit was one to obtain a declaration that the order of dismissal was bad and he continued to be in service. To such a suit the Courts below have rightly applied Article 58 of the First Schedule of the . That Article runs thus: "58. To obtain any Three When the right to other declaration. years sue first accrues. " Appellant 's counsel placed before us the residuary Article 113 and has referred to a few decisions of some High Courts where in a 47 situation as here reliance was placed on that Article. It is unnecessary to refer to those decisions as on the authority of the judgment of this Court in the case of Pierce Leslie & Co. Ltd. vs Violet Ouchterlony Wapshare & Ors. vice versa; 	 	 it must be held that Article 113 of the Act of 1963	 corresponding to Article 120 of the old Act	 is a general one and would apply to suits to which no other Article in the schedule applies. The fate of this appeal	 therefore	 rests upon the finding as to when the right to sue first accrued. All the three Courts have accepted the position that on 1.3.1966 when the order of dismissal was made by the Collector	 the right to sue first accrued. Admittedly	 the suit was not filed within a period of three years from that date. The appeal was dismissed on 31.8.1966. The sixty days ' time spent for complying with the requirement of notice under section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure was available to the plaintiff in addition to the period of three years. If the date	 therefore	 counts	 from the date of the appellate order	 the suit would be within time. In Goel 's case the question of merger of the order of the lower authority in the order of the higher authority was considered. Adverting to this aspect	 Bhagwati	 J. who spoke for the Court	 said: "The initial difficulty in the way of the appellant	 however	 is that departmen tal enquiries even though They culminate in decisions on appeals or revision cannot be equated with proceedings before the regular courts of law." Reliance was placed on the observations of this Court in State Uttar Pradesh vs Mohammad Nooh	 ; 	 where it has been said: . an order of dismissal passed on a departmental enquiry by an officer in the department and an order passed by another officer next higher in rank dismissing an appeal therefrom and an order rejecting an application for revision by the head of the department can hardly be equated with any propriety with decrees made in a civil suit under the Code of Civil Procedure by the Court of first instance and the decree dismissing the appeal therefrom by an appeal court and the order dismissing the revision petition by a yet higher court	 . . because the de partmental 48 tribunals of the first instance or on appeal or revision are not regular courts manned by persons trained in law although they may have the trapping of the courts of law 	 ' and the Court proceeded to say: "The analogy of the decisions of the courts of law would	 therefore	 be hardly available to the appellant." Alternately	 the Court also examined the question as to whether when the appeal of the appellate court affirming the decree of the trial court was made	 the original decree had ceased to be operative. Bhagwati	 J. quoted with approval another part of the judgment in Moharnmad Nooh 's case	 where it was said: "In the next place	 while it is true that a decree of a court of first instance may be said to merge in the decree passed on appeal therefrom or even in the order passed in revision	 it does so only for certain pur poses	 namely	 for the purposes of computing the period of limitation for execution of the decree as in Batuk Nath vs Munni Dei	 41 Indian Appeals 104	 or for computing the period of limitation for an application for final decree in a mortgage suit as in Jowad Hussain vs Gendan Singh	 53 Indian Appeals 197. But as pointed out by Sir Lawrence Jen kins in delivering the judgment of the Privy Council in Juscurn Soid vs Pirthichand Lal	 40 indian Appeals 52	 whatever be the theory under other systems of law	 under the Indian law and procedure an original decree is not suspended by the presentation of an appeal nor is its operation interrupted where the decree on appeal is merely one of dismissal. There is nothing in the Indian law to warrant the suggestion that the decree or order of the court or tribunal of the first instance be comes final only on the termination of all .proceedings by way of appeal or revision. The filing of the appeal or revision may put the decree or order in jeopardy but until it is reversed or modified it remains effective. ' Bhagwati	 J. then said: "The original decree being thus operative what we are really concerned with is the commence ment of the period of limitation as prescribed in the relevant statute and if the 49 statute prescribes that it commences from the date of the accrual of the cause of action there is no getting behind these words in spite of the apparent inequity of applying the same." In Mohammad Nooh 's case the question for consideration was whether the impugned order in the proceedings under Article 226 of the Constitution before the High Court was an order prior to the Constitution and	 therefore	 the High Court could not exercise its jurisdiction or was it one pending at the commencement of the Constitution and the revisional order being after the Constitution came into force	 the writ petition would be maintainable. The majori ty	 as also Bose	 J. who otherwise differed	 agreed that jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution was not retrospective. The majority opinion	 however	 was that it would not be correct to say that the order of dismissal made on April 20	 1948	 merged in the appellate order dated May 7	 1949	 and both the orders in due course merged in the revisional order of April 22	 1950. The original of dismiss al was operative on its own strength. Bose	 J. however	 observed: "I see no reason why any narrow or ultra technical restrictions should be placed on them. Justice should	 in my opinion	 be administered in our Courts in a common sense liberal way and be broad based on human values rather than on narrow and restricted consider ations hedged round with hairsplitting techni calities . . The final order was passed after the Constitution on April 22	 1950. It is true that if it had been passed before the Constitution came into force on January 26	 1950	 the petitioner would have had no remedy in the Courts. But the Constitution breathed fresh life into this land and conferred pre cious rights and privileges that were not there before. Why should they be viewed nar rowly? Why should not that which would have been regarded as still pending for present purposes	 if all had been done after the Constitution	 be construed in any different way when the final act	 which is the decisive one for these purposes	 was done after it?" The problem in Mohammad Nooh 's case	 therefore	 was differ ent from what was for consideration in Goel 's case. In Madan Gopal Rungta vs Secretary to the Government of Orissa	 [1962] Suppl. 3 SCR 906	 a Constitution bench of this Court was 50 examining the correctness of the finding of the High Court that it had no jurisdiction to entertain a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution as the revisional order was that of Government of India located outside its territorial jurisdiction. Rungta 's case took into consideration the judgment in Mohammad Nooh 's case and stated: "We are of opinion that the principle of Mohammad Nooh 's case cannot apply in the circumstances of the present case. The ques tion there was whether the High Court could issue a writ under article 226 in respect of a dismissal which was effective from 1948	 simply because the revision against the order of dismissal was dismissed by the State Gov ernment in April	 1950 after the Constitution came into force. It was in these circumstances that this Court held that the dismissal having taken place in 1948 could not be the subject matter of an application under article 226 of the Constitution for that would be giving retro spective effect to that Article. The argument that the order of dismissal merged in the order passed in appeal therefrom and in the final order of revision was repelled by this Court on two grounds. It was held	 firstly	 that the principle of merger applicable to decrees of courts would not apply to orders of departmental tribunals	 and	 secondly	 that the original order of dismissal would be operative on its own strength and did not gain greater efficacy by the subsequent order of dismissal of the appeal or revision	 and therefore	 the order of dismissal having been passed before the Constitution would not be open to attack under article 226 of the Constitu tion. We are of opinion that the facts in Mohd. Nooh 's case were of a special kind and the reasoning in that case would not apply to the facts of the present case. " The view expressed by Wanchoo	 J. in Rungta 's case meets with our approval. In Rungta 's case this Court ultimately held that the order of the State Government had merged into the order of the Central Government and the High Court was	 therefore	 right in its view that it had no jurisdiction. The next Constitution Bench decision of this Court is that of Collector of Customs	 Calcutta vs East India Commer cial Co. Ltd.	 where this Court observed: "The question	 therefore	 turns on whether the order of 51 the original authority becomes merged in the order of the appellate authority even where the appellate authority merely dismisses the appeal without any modification of the order of the original authority. It is obvious that when an appeal is made	 the appellate authori ty can do one of three things	 namely	 (i) it may reverse the order under appeal	 (ii) it may modify that order	 and (iii) it may merely dismiss the appeal and thus confirm the order without any modification. It is not disputed that in the first two cases where the order of the original authority is either reversed or modified it is the order of the appellate authority which is the operative order and if the High Court has no jurisdiction to issue a writ to the appellate authority it cannot issue a writ to the original authority. The question therefore is whether there is any difference between these two cases and the third case where the appellate authority dismisses the appeal and thus confirms the order of the original authority. It seems to us that on principle it is difficult to draw a distinction between the first two kinds of orders passed by the appellate authority and the third kind of order passed by it. In all these three cases after the appellate authori ty has disposed of the appeal	 the operative order is the order of the appellate authority whether it has reversed the original order or modified it or confirmed it. In law	 the appellate order of confirmation is quite as efficacious as an operative order as an appel late order of reversal or modification. " A 3 Judge Bench decision in the case of Somnath Sahu vs The State of Orissa & Ors.	 is an authority in support of the position as accepted by the two Constitu tion Bench judgments referred to above. There	 it was held in the case of a service dispute that the original order merged in the appellate order of the State Government and it is the appellate decision which subsisted and became opera tive in law and was capable of enforcement. That judgment relied upon another decision of this Court in support of its view being C.I.T .v. Amrit Lal Bhagilal & Co.	 [1959] SCR 713. The distinction adopted in Mohammad Nooh 's case between a court and a tribunal being the appellate or the revisional authority is one without any legal justification. Powers of adjudication ordinarily vested in courts are being exercised under the law by tribunals and other constituted authori ties. In fact	 in respect of many disputes the 52 jurisdiction of the court is now barred and there is a vesting of jurisdiction in tribunals and authorities. That being the position	 we see no justification for the distinc tion between courts and tribunals in regard to the principle of merger. On the authority of the precedents indicated	 it must be held that the order of dismissal made by the Collec tor did merge into the order of the Divisional Commissioner when the appellant 's appeal was dismissed on 31.8. In several States the Conduct Rules for Government servants require the administrative remedies to be exhausted before the disciplinary orders can be challenged in court. Section 20(1) of the provides: "20(1). A Tribunal shall not ordinarily admit an application unless it is satisfied that the applicant had availed of all the remedies available to him under the relevant service rules as to redressal of grievances. " The Rules relating to disciplinary proceedings do pro vide for an appeal against the orders of punishment imposed on public servants. Some Rules provide even a second appeal or a revision. The purport of section 20 of the is to give effect to the Disciplinary Rules and the exhaustion of the remedies available thereunder is a condition precedent to maintaining of claims under the . Administrative Tribunals have been set up for Government servants of the Centre and sever al States have already set up such Tribunals under the Act for the employees of the respective States. The law is soon going to get crystallised on the line laid down under section 20 of the . In this background if the original order of punishment is taken as the date when cause of action first accrues for purposes of Article 58 of the 	 great hardship is bound to result. On one side	 the claim would not be maintainable if laid before exhaustion of the remedies; on the other	 if the departmental remedy though availed is not finalised within the period of limitation	 the cause of action would no more be justiciable having become barred by limitation. Redressal of grievances in the hands of the departmental authorities take an unduly long time. That is so on account of the fact that no attention is ordinarily bestowed over these matters and they are not considered to be governmental business of substance. This approach has to be deprecated and authorities on whom power is vested to dispose of appeals and revisions under the Service Rules must dispose of such matters as 53 expeditiously as possible. Ordinarily	 a period of three to six months should be the outer limit. That would discipline the system and keep the public servant away from a protract ed period of litigation. We are satisfied that to meet the situation as has arisen here	 it would be appropriate to hold that the cause of action first arises when the remedies available to the public servant under the relevant service Rules as to re dressal are disposed of. The question for consideration is whether it should be disposal of one appeal or 'the entire hierarchy of reliefs as may have been provided. Statutory guidance is available from the provisions of sub sections (2) and (3) of section 20 of the . There	 it has been laid down: "20(2). For the purposes of sub section (1)	 a person shall be deemed to have availed of all the remedies available to him under the rele vant service rules as to redressal of griev ances	 (a) if a final order has been made by the Government or other authority or offi cer or other person competent to pass such order under such rules	 rejecting any appeal preferred or representation made by such person in connection with the grievances; or (b) where no final order has been made by tee Government or other authority or officer or other person competent to pass such order with regard to the appeal preferred or representation made by such person	 if a period of six months from the date on which such appeal was preferred or representation was made has expired. (3) For the purposes of sub sections (1) and (2)	 any remedy available to an appli cant by way of submission of a memorial to the President or the Governor of a State or to any other functionary shall not be deemed to be one of the remedies which are available unless the applicant had elected to submit such memorial. " We are of the view that the cause of action shall be taken to arise not from the date of the original adverse order but on the date when the order of the higher authority where a statutory remedy is provided 54 entertaining the appeal or representation is made and where no such order is made	 though the remedy has been availed of	 a six months ' period from the date of preferring of the appeal or making of the representation shall be taken to be the date when cause of action shall be taken to have first arisen. We	 however	 make it clear that this principle may not be applicable when the remedy availed of has not been provided by law. Repeated unsuccessful representations not provided by law are not governed by this principle. It is appropriate to notice the provision regarding limitation under section 21 of the . Sub section (1) has prescribed a period of one year for making of the application and power of condonation of delay of a total period of six months has been vested under sub section (3). The Civil Court 's jurisdiction has been taken away by the Act and	 therefore	 as far as Government serv ants are concerned	 Article ' 58 may not be invocable in view of the special limitation. Yet	 suits outside the purview of the shall continue to be gov erned by Article 58. It is proper that the position in such cases should be uniform. Therefore	 in every such case only when the appeal or representation provided by law is disposed of	 cause of action shall first accrue and where such order is not made	 on the expiry of six months from the date when the appeal was filed or representation was made	 the right to sue shall first accrue. Submission of just a memorial or representation to the Head of the establishment shall not be taken into considera tion in the matter of fixing limitation. In view of what we have said above	 Goel 's case must be taken to have not been correctly decided. Reliance was placed by appellant 's learned counsel on a recent decision of a Two Judge Bench in the case of Raghubir Jha vs State of Bihar & Ors.	 The conclusion reached is in accord with what we have held but the legal position was not at all referred to or examined. It is unnecessary to make any further reference to that judgment. Now coming to the facts of the present appeal. Since the claim has been dismissed on the plea of limitation and our conclusion is that the suit was within time	 the judg ments of the trial Court	 the First 55 Appellate Court and the High Court are set aside and the matter is remitted to the trial Court for disposal in ac cordance with law. Too long a period has now intervened between the dismissal of the suit and our order of remand. We	 therefore	 direct the learned trial Judge to take all effective steps open to him in law to ensure that the suit is disposed of finally before the 15th of December	 1989. Costs shall abide the event. Y.Lal. Appeal allowed.

The plaintiff appellant was dismissed from service by the Collector on 13.1.1966. His departmental appeal was dismissed by the Divisional Commissioner on 31.8.1966. Thereupon the appellant instituted a suit on 30.1.1969 asking for a declaration that the order of dismissal was inoperative and that he continued to be in service. The suit was dismissed by the trial court and that order was upheld by the appellate courts. In dismissing the suit the courts below accepted the defence plea that it had been filed beyond the period of limitation prescribed therefore under Article 58 of the first Schedule of the Limitation Act. Hence this appeal. This appeal initially came up for hearing before a Division Bench of this Court. At the hearing reli ance was placed before a decision of this Court in Sita Ram Goel vs The Municipal Board	 Kanpur & Ors.	 ; in support of the contention that the suit was barred by limitation. The Division Bench took the view that the deci sion of this Court rendered by five Judge Bench in Sita Ram Goel 's aforesaid required reconsideration. This is how the appeal has come up before a Seven Judge Bench. The question that fell for determination by the Court was 'When was the right to sue first accrued ' to the appellant i.e. whether from the date when the original adverse order of dismissal was passed against him or when the departmental/statutory appeal was finally disposed of. The appellant 's contention is that the original order having merged in the final order whereby his departmental appeal was disposed of	 the right to sue accrued from that date and on this reckoning	 the suit filed by him was within time. 44 Allowing the appeal and remanding the matter to trial Court	 this Court	 HELD: Powers of adjudication ordinarily vested in courts are being exercised under the law by tribunals and other constituted authorities. [51H] In respect of many disputes the jurisdiction of the court is now barred and there is a vesting of jurisdiction in tribunals and authorities. That being the position	 there is no justification for the distinction between courts and tribunals in regard to the principle of merger. [51H; 52A] It must be held in the instant case	 that the order of dismissal made by the Collector did merge into the order of the Divisional Commissioner when the appellant 's appeal was dismissed on 31.8.1966. [52B] The cause of action first arises when the remedies available to the public servant under the relevant service Rules as to redressal are disposed of. [53B] The cause of action shall be taken to arise not from the date of the original adverse order but on the date when the order of the higher authority where a statutory remedy is provided entertaining the appeal or representation is made. Where no such order is made	 though the remedy has been availed of	 a six months ' period from the date of preferring of the appeal or making of the representation shall be taken to be the date when cause of action shall be taken to have first arisen. [53H; 54A] In every such case until the appeal or representation provided by a law is disposed of	 accrual of the cause of action shall first arise only when the higher authority makes its order on appeal or representation and where such order is not made on the expiry of six months from the date when the appeal was filed or representation was made. [54D] Redressal of grievances in the hands of the departmental authorities taken an unduly long time. That is so on account of the fact that no attention is ordinarily bestowed over these matters and they are not considered to be governmental business of substance. This approach has to be deprecated and authorities on whom power is vested to dispose of ap peals and revisions under the service Rules must dispose of such matters as expeditiously as possible. [52G H] 45 Ordinarily	 a period of three to six months should be the outer limit. That would discipline the system and keep the public servant away from a protracted period of litiga tion. [53A] Sita Ram Goel vs The Municipal Board	 Kanpur & Ors.	 ; 	 overruled. Madan Gopal Rungta vs Secretary to the Government of Orissa	 [1962] Supp. 3 SCR 906	 followed. Pierce Leslie Co. Ltd. vs Violet Ouchterlony Wapshare & Ors.	 and vice verse; 	 ; State of Uttar Pradesh vs Muhammad Nooh	 ; ; Collector of Customs	 Calcutta vs East India Commercial Co. Ltd.	 ; Somnath Sahu vs State of Orissa & Ors.	 ; C.I.T.v. Amrit Lal Bhagilal & Co.	 [1959] SCR 713 and Raghuvir Jha vs State of Bihar & Ors.	 	 referred to.