"Expiry Underway" prevented placing order at ICICIDirect

I tried placing an order in NIFTY FUTURE Jan at around 3.28 PM today through ICICIDirect. Though the market was open, my order was not accepted and the message displayed was, "Expiry underway. Please try again later".

Earlier, I had a similar experience with ICICIDirect's FUTUREPLUS. My position was squared off by ICICI at 3.15 PM. I did not know - and could not find on its website FAQ - the time limit for holding intraday trade, which the FUTUREPLUS was.

Can someone tell me the time limit for initiating a new trade/squaring off an existing position during market hours? Was it only at ICICI or all brokers have the same restriction?

Thanks

subroto