India’s cherished value of satya put under carpet, says Allahabad High Court, slaps Rs 50k cost on society for hiding facts

Justice Kshitij Shailendra came down heavily on the petitioners for suppressing details of multiple rounds of prior litigation between the parties.

‘Playing fraud’

• Submission is that filing of the writ petition is based upon gross concealment of material facts and proceedings so as to obtain favourable order from this court.
• Confronted with the said situation, counsel for the petitioners submits that two of the writ petitions have already been dismissed as infructuous. The said orders have been placed before this court.
• However, there is no dispute regarding filing of various writ petitions as well as pendency of at least one petition wherein interim order is operative and the petitioners being respondents therein are contesting the same by filing counter affidavit.
• Concealment of the proceedings and their result, is sufficient not only to decline grant of any relief but also to observe that petitioners have made an attempt to mislead the court by making false statements on affidavit.
• Truth constituted an integral part of the justice-delivery system in the pre-Independence era, however, the materialism has overshadowed the old ethos and the quest for personal gain has become so intense that those involved in litigation do not hesitate in taking shelter of falsehood, misrepresentation and suppression of facts in the court proceedings.
• Now it is well settled that a litigant, who attempts to pollute the stream of justice or who touches the pure fountain of justice with tainted hands, is not entitled to any relief, interim or final.
• Suppression of material facts from the court of law, is actually playing fraud with the court.
• The maxim supressio veri, expression falsi, i.e. suppression of truth is equivalent to the expression of falsehood, gets attracted in such cases including the present one.
• This writ petition, being gross and patent abuse of the process of law, is liable to be dismissed with exemplary cost.

Directions

• The writ petition is, accordingly, dismissed by imposing a cost of Rs 50,000 upon the petitioners.
• The cost shall be deposited by the petitioners before the registrar general of this court within a period of one month from today, failing which, the registrar (compliance), High Court, Allahabad shall ensure that this order is sent to the collector, Kanpur Dehat to initiate and conclude the proceedings of recovery of the amount of cost as arrears of land revenue.

Background

• A petition was filed on behalf of the committee of management of a society with a prayer to issue a direction to decide the representation of the petitioners for registering the list of office bearers of committee of management of the society for the year 2025-26.
• The petitioners came up with a case that there were no rival claims or disputes qua the committee of management.
• However, it was pointed out to the court that various writ petitions were filed between the parties.
• The counsel for the newly impleaded party submitted that filing of the writ petition was based upon gross concealment of material facts and proceedings so as to obtain favourable order from the court.