Case Title: CHARU KISHOR MEHTA v. PRAKASH PATEL & ORS.
The Supreme Court condemned the act of the petitioner’s repeated cycle of filing and then withdrawing the case before the Court. Agitated by the attitude of the Petitioner, the Apex Court also upheld the Bombay High Court’s order in implementing a cost of Rs 5 Lakhs and noted that the order was absolutely justified.
The Bench also quoted Dalip Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh in which the Supreme Court has talked about various methods used by the litigants to abuse the process of the Court under similar circumstances- "For many centuries, Indian society cherished two basic values of life i.e., `Satya' (truth) and `Ahimsa' (non-violence)...Truth constituted an integral part of justice delivery system which was in vogue in pre- independence era and the people used to feel proud to tell truth in the courts irrespective of the consequences...In the last 40 years, a new creed of litigants has cropped up. Those who belong to this creed do not have any respect for truth. They shamelessly resort to falsehood and unethical means for achieving their goals. In order to meet the challenge posed by this new creed of litigants, the courts have, from time to time, evolved new rules and it is now well established 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."
The bench even referred to the following observation given by the Supreme Court in the case of Subrata Roy Sahara v. Union of India- "The Indian judicial system is grossly afflicted, with frivolous litigation. Ways and means need to be evolved, to deter litigants from their compulsive obsession, towards senseless and ill-considered claims. One needs to keep in mind, that in the process of litigation, there is an innocent sufferer on the other side, of every irresponsible and senseless claim. He suffers long drawn anxious periods of nervousness and restlessness, whilst the litigation is pending, without any fault on his part".