SC: Don’t sleep on legal rights
Enforcing the jurisprudence of prompt legal remedy devised by famous British jurists John Salmond that the laws only come to the aid of “vigilant people not sleepy ones”, the Supreme Court, in an import judgment on the delayed litigation, has said it will be hard to provide relief by the courts to those who “slumber over their rights”.
“It needs no restatement at our hands that the object for fixing time-limit for litigation is based on public policy of fixing a life span for legal remedy for the purpose of general welfare. It is meant to see that the parties do not resort to dilatory tactics but avail their legal remedies promptly. Salmond in his jurisprudence states that laws come to the assistance of the vigilant and not of the sleepy,” a bench of Justice P. Sathasivam and J. Chelameswar said.
The apex court said the jurisprudence laid down by Salmond in the 19th Century was equally relevant today, especially in the cases where the litigants is the government or its agencies as any delay on their part to approach the courts concerning the issues of public importance would have serious consequences due to the callous approach of the officials.
“If appeals brought by the government are lost for such defaults (of delay), no person is individually affected; but what, in the ultimate analysis, suffers is the public interest. The decision of the government are collective and institutionalised decisions and do not share the characteristics of decisions of private individuals,” the court said. “The court cannot inquire into the belated and stale claims on the ground of equity. Delay defeats equity. The courts helps those who are vigilant and do not slumber over their rights,” the Supreme Court said.
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