Allahabad High Court Imposes 3 Lakh Cost On A Petitioner For Repeatedly Filing Petitions Agitating Same Cause Of Action
The Allahabad High Court recently imposed an extraordinary cost of Rs. 3 lakh on a former Gram Sabha Pradhan for repeatedly approaching the Court with the same cause of action, despite several dismissals. The order was passed by a Single Bench of Justice Rajiv Joshi which noted that the instant petition was the fourth attempt made by the Petitioner to present the same cause of...
The Allahabad High Court recently imposed an extraordinary cost of Rs. 3 lakh on a former Gram Sabha Pradhan for repeatedly approaching the Court with the same cause of action, despite several dismissals.
The order was passed by a Single Bench of Justice Rajiv Joshi which noted that the instant petition was the fourth attempt made by the Petitioner to present the same cause of action, despite dismissal of his pleas for lack of merit.
Background
The Petitioner had first approached the High Court in Writ-C No. 11660 of 2019, challenging an order dated 20.2.2019 restraining him from exercising financial and administrative powers of a Gram Pradhan, which was dismissed by order dated 4.4.2019 for lacking merit.
The Petitioner then approached the Court in Writ-C No. 40436 of 2019 on the same cause of action, which was dismissed as withdrawn vide order dated 12.12.2019.
Thereafter again, the Petitioner approached the Court in Writ-C No. 5431 of 2020 filed for the similar relief, which was also dismissed by order dated 14.2.2020, as withdrawn without any liberty to file a fresh petition.
Subsequently, the present writ petition was filed challenging the same impugned order dated 20.2.2019.
Observations
Taking note of such repeated filings despite, the Court had issued notice to the Petitioner to show case why proceedings of contempt should be not initiated against him for making a deliberate false statement before the Court.
In response, the Petitioner tendered an apology with folded hands, claiming that he is not well-qualified and has passed only 5th class, and therefore, due to lack of legal knowledge, he kept filing these writ petitions.
Unconvinced, the Single Judge proceeded to dismiss the petition with an extraordinary cost of Rs. 3 lacs to be deposited by the Petitioner with the Registry of the Court within one month.
"In case the said cost is not deposited within the stipulated period, the Registry is directed to recover the amount of cost from the petitioner as the arrears of land revenue," the Court said.
Related News:
Last year, the Supreme Court imposed costs of Rs. 25,000 on Raj Kumar Modi, an accused in Adarsh Scam Case, for filing repetitive filing of interim bail applications. "Repetitive filing of applications amounts to abuse of process of law," said the bench comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao, Hemant Gupta and S. Ravindra Bhat.
Case Title: Noor Hasan v. State of UP & Ors.
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