Vigilantibus non dormientibus jura subveniunt
Latin: The laws aid the vigilant, not those who sleep over their rights
Also called: Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt, Law assists the vigilant
The law helps those who are vigilant about their rights, not those who sleep over them. It is the policy behind the law of limitation and the doctrine of laches.
Explained
The maxim vigilantibus non dormientibus jura subveniunt means that the law assists those who are vigilant and not those who sleep over their rights. It expresses the policy that a person who delays unreasonably in enforcing a right should not be allowed to disturb settled positions, and that litigation should be brought while evidence is fresh. Together with interest reipublicae ut sit finis litium, it supplies the rationale of the law of limitation.
In India the maxim is given effect principally by the Limitation Act, 1963. Section 3 requires every suit instituted, appeal preferred and application made after the prescribed period to be dismissed, although limitation has not been set up as a defence, so the court must take note of the bar on its own. Limitation ordinarily bars the remedy and does not extinguish the right, but Section 27 is an exception: at the end of the period for a suit for possession of property, the right to the property itself is extinguished. Section 6 relaxes the rule for persons under legal disability, such as a minor, who may sue within the same period after the disability ends.
The rigour of the bar is tempered by Section 5, which allows an appeal or application, other than an application under Order XXI of the CPC, to be admitted after the prescribed period if the applicant shows sufficient cause. Courts construe sufficient cause liberally where there is no negligence or want of bona fides, because the object is to advance justice and not to punish a litigant for unavoidable delay. Section 5 does not apply to suits.
Outside the Limitation Act, the same idea underlies the doctrine of laches in writ jurisdiction under Article 226 and in equitable reliefs, where a court may refuse relief to a petitioner who has slept over his rights even though no statutory period applies. Examiners test the meaning, the link to Sections 3, 5 and 27, and the doctrine of laches.
What the law says
(1) Subject to the provisions contained in sections 4 to 24 (inclusive), every suit instituted, appeal preferred, and application made after the prescribed period shall be dismissed, although limitation has not been set up as a defence.
(2) For the purposes of this Act,—
(a) a suit is instituted,—
Bar of limitation, applied by the court on its own
Any appeal or any application, other than an application under any of the provisions of Order XXI of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), may be admitted after the prescribed period if the appellant or the applicant satisfies the court that he had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal or making the application within such period.
Explanation.—The fact that the appellant or the applicant was misled by any order, practice or judgment of the High Court in ascertaining or computing the prescribed period may be sufficient cause within the meaning of this section.
Extension of time for sufficient cause
At the determination of the period hereby limited to any person for instituting a suit for possession of any property, his right to such property shall be extinguished.
Extinguishment of right to property
(1) Where a person entitled to institute a suit or make an application for the execution of a decree is, at the time from which the prescribed period is to be reckoned, a minor or insane, or an idiot, he may institute the suit or make the application within the same period after the disability has ceased, as would otherwise have been allowed from the time specified there for in the third column of the Schedule.
(2) Where such person is, at the time from which the prescribed period is to be reckoned, affected by two such disabilities, or where, before his disability has ceased, he is affected by another disability, he may institute the suit or make the application within the same period after both disabilities have ceased, as would otherwise have been allowed from the time so specified.
(3) Where the disability continues up to the death of that person, his legal representative may institute the suit or make the application within the same period after the death, as would otherwise have been allowed from the time so specified.
Relief for persons under legal disability
Example
For example, a creditor who sues to recover a loan after the three year period prescribed in the Schedule has run finds his suit dismissed under Section 3 of the Limitation Act, though the debt itself is not wiped out.
For the exam
- Meaning: the law aids the vigilant, not those who sleep over their rights.
- Foundation of the law of limitation and of the doctrine of laches.
- Section 3 Limitation Act: court must dismiss time barred proceedings even if no defence is raised.
- Section 5 condonation applies to appeals and applications, not suits.
- Section 27 extinguishes the right to property itself, not just the remedy.
Related terms
- Period of limitationUnder Section 2(j) of the Limitation Act, the period prescribed for a suit, appeal or application by the Schedule. In criminal law, the period in Section 514 BNSS for taking cognizance.
- Prescribed periodUnder Section 2(j) of the Limitation Act, the period of limitation computed in accordance with the Act, as distinct from the bare period fixed by the Schedule.
- Nullum tempus occurrit regiTime does not run against the king. In India the maxim is not applied as such: the Limitation Act binds the Government, though it gives longer periods for certain government claims.
- Res judicataA matter directly and substantially in issue that a competent court has heard and finally decided between the same parties cannot be tried again in a later suit (Section 11, CPC).
- MinorA person who has not attained majority, which in India is ordinarily the completion of eighteen years. A minor cannot contract, and his agreement is void.
Further reading
Checked 6 November 2026. Statutory text is quoted from the Bare Acts library, taken from India Code. See the full glossary.