Telangana High Court Imposes Rs 1 Cr Fine for Misleading Petition

Hyderabad: Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka of the Telangana High Court on Friday imposed an exemplary cost of Rs 1 crore on a petitioner for “abuse of process of court”. The court found the petitioner guilty of filing multiple petitions and not stating the same under oath to the court.

The judge was dealing with a writ plea filed by Venkata Rami Reddy. The petitioner claimed ownership of a land measuring 9.11 acres at Kandikal, stating that his father had acquired the property through a registered sale deed in 1980. The petitioner alleged that the land, originally classified as 'abadi' (residential), was wrongly recorded in revenue records and, despite corrections, the Town Survey Records continued to reflect the incorrect classification.

The petitioner accused the respondents, including the tahsildar and the revenue department, of attempting to forcibly take possession of the land without following due process.

The respondents countered the claim, stating that the land in question was classified as government land and was included in the land bank. They argued that the petitioner and his father had no legitimate claim over the property and were attempting to encroach on it by using fabricated documents.

The respondents also highlighted that multiple court cases, including civil suit and a second appeal, had been filed regarding the land, with the court ruling in favour of the government.

Justice Bheemapaka found that the petitioner had suppressed crucial facts about previous litigations filed by him and his father. It was revealed that the petitioner had filed several writ petitions, which were either withdrawn or dismissed. Despite this, the petitioner filed the current writ petition without disclosing the previous cases, thereby misleading the court.

The judge also observed that the petitioner engaged in "forum shopping" by approaching different benches of the court with minor changes in the prayer clauses to obtain favourable orders. The court noted that such conduct was an abuse of the judicial process and a clear attempt to manipulate the system.

In his judgment, Justice Bheemapaka emphasised the importance of truth and transparency in judicial proceedings. Quoting the maxim ‘suppressio veri, expressio falsi (suppression of truth is equivalent to expression of falsehood)’, the court held that the petitioner had not approached the court with "clean hands" and had deliberately concealed material facts to gain an unfair advantage.

The judge strongly criticised the conduct of the petitioner, stating that "litigation of this nature clogs the judicial system and prevents genuine litigants from receiving justice." Recognising the systemic burden created by frivolous cases, the court imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore, payable to the High Court Legal Services Authority by April 10.