(1) Where a person who would, if he were living, have a right to institute a suit or make an application dies before the right accrues, or where a right to institute a suit or make an application accrues only on the death of a person, the period of limitation shall be computed from the time when there is a legal representative of the deceased capable of instituting such suit or making such application.
(2) Where a person against whom, if he were living, a right to institute a suit or make an application would have accrued dies before the right accrues, or where a right to institute a suit or make an application against any person accrues only on the death of a person, the period of limitation shall be computed from the time when there is a legal representative of the deceased against whom the plaintiff may institute such suit or make such application.
(3) Nothing in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) applies to suits to enforce rights of pre-emption or to suits for the possession of immovable property or of a hereditary office.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 16
Section 16 of the Limitation Act, 1963 governs the effect of death on or before the accrual of the right to sue, regulating when limitation begins to run where there is no legal representative capable of suing or being sued.
Section 16 cannot be invoked if the cause of action accrued while the deceased was alive; verify the precise date of breach or injury to determine whether Section 9 (time once running cannot be stopped) or Section 16 governs.