‘Hiding Facts Is Fraud On Court': Allahabad HC Rejects PIL, Slaps Rs 15,000 Fine

News18

28-07-2025

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Citing precedents from the Supreme Court, the court said litigants who mislead the court by suppressing facts are not entitled to any relief
The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by one Manish Kumar, holding that the petitioner concealed crucial information about an earlier identical case and misused the judicial process. The court also imposed a cost of Rs 15,000 on the petitioner.
Justice Kshitij Shailendra noted that Kumar had previously filed a PIL involving the same property and the same respondent (Respondent No. 6), which was withdrawn on May 12, 2025, without seeking liberty to refile. Despite this, Kumar approached the court again with a fresh PIL without disclosing the earlier proceedings.
The high court held that such suppression amounted to a serious misuse of the process of law. 'Non-disclosure of the previously filed writ petition and its result amounts to misuse of process of law," the judge observed.
The objection to the maintainability of the PIL was raised by Anil Kumar Shukla, counsel for Respondent No. 6, who argued that the petition was filed to harass his client. The court found merit in the argument and stated that the circumstances indicated the PIL was likely driven by personal motives rather than genuine public interest.
The bench also noted that both petitions were filed by the same advocate and involved identical parties and property details. It further pointed out that the petitioner had identified himself as a social worker but failed to provide any evidence of actual social work.
Citing precedents from the Supreme Court, including Dalip Singh v. State of U.P. and K.D. Sharma v. Steel Authority of India Ltd., the court said litigants who mislead the court by suppressing facts are not entitled to any relief.
As a consequence, the PIL was dismissed with a cost of Rs 15,000 to be deposited with the Registrar General of the High Court within two weeks. If the petitioner fails to comply, the District Collector of Hathras has been directed to initiate recovery proceedings.
The court ordered that the amount be credited to Tara Sansthan and used solely for the welfare of elderly residents at the Rabindra Nath Gaur Anand Old Age Home in Prayagraj. The institution has been asked to file statements on the use of funds with the Registrar General until the full amount is utilised.
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