Case Note & Summary
The judgment concerns a Review Petition (L) No. 19103 of 2019 filed by Mohd Talib Habib Shaikh, who was respondent no. 7 in Writ Petition No. 2061 of 2018 and a respondent in Writ Petition No. 2659 of 2018. The review petition was filed pursuant to a liberty granted by the Supreme Court on 3rd July 2019 in Special Leave Petition (C) No. 14345 of 2019, seeking review of a common order dated 7th June 2019 passed by the Bombay High Court. The court, comprising Justices S.C. Dharmadhikari and G.S. Patel, dismissed the review petition with costs of Rs. 5,00,000, finding that the petitioner had consistently and deliberately misled courts from the Civil Court to the Supreme Court by suppressing material facts and making false statements. The court noted that the petitioner had obtained the liberty from the Supreme Court by misrepresentation and had abused the process of law. The judgment emphasizes the need to deter such conduct to maintain the integrity of the judicial process.
Headnote
A) Civil Procedure - Review Petition - Abuse of Process - Suppression of Facts - The review petitioner, who was a respondent in the original writ petitions, sought review of an order dated 7th June 2019. The court found that the petitioner had consistently and deliberately misled courts from the Civil Court to the Supreme Court by suppressing material facts and making false statements. The court held that such conduct amounts to an abuse of the process of law and dismissed the review petition with exemplary costs of Rs. 5,00,000. (Paras 1-10) B) Civil Procedure - Liberty Granted by Supreme Court - Scope of Review - The review petition was filed pursuant to a liberty granted by the Supreme Court on 3rd July 2019 in SLP (C) No. 14345 of 2019. The court examined whether the liberty could be used to re-agitate issues already decided. It held that the liberty did not permit the petitioner to misrepresent facts or suppress material information, and the review petition was liable to be dismissed on grounds of abuse of process. (Paras 1-5) C) Civil Procedure - Costs - Exemplary Costs for Misleading Courts - The court imposed costs of Rs. 5,00,000 on the review petitioner, payable to the Bombay High Court Legal Services Committee, for deliberately misleading courts and wasting judicial time. The court emphasized that such conduct undermines the integrity of the judicial process and must be deterred. (Paras 10-12)
Issue of Consideration
Whether the review petition, filed pursuant to liberty granted by the Supreme Court, should be entertained given the petitioner's consistent and deliberate misrepresentation and suppression of material facts before multiple courts.
Final Decision
The Review Petition is dismissed with costs of Rs. 5,00,000 (Rupees Five Lakhs) to be paid by the review petitioner to the Bombay High Court Legal Services Committee within four weeks.
Law Points
- Review petition
- abuse of process
- suppression of facts
- misleading courts
- liberty granted by Supreme Court
- dismissal with costs
