Chandigarh: Concealment of judicial orders has cost a non-resident Indian (NRI) dear. Justice Rajiv Narain Raina of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a petition filed by the NRI with Rs 1 lakh costs.
According to tribune news service, The order came on a petition filed by NRI Karan Sood against M/s Kay Pee Industries and other respondents in a case hovering around an agreement to sell. “In view of the conduct of the petitioner and the active concealment of judicial orders having direct bearing on the lis (proceedings), this petition is dismissed with Rs 1 lakh as costs to be paid to the respondents by the petitioner on the next date of hearing fixed before the trial Court at Ludhiana,” Justice Raina asserted.
Taking up the matter, Justice Raina added that an earlier order in the matter dated March 30 had material bearing on the case. But it was concealed in the petition. It was brought to the notice of the court during the hearing, when counsel for the respondents Ashok Aggarwal, Mukul Aggarwal, and Saurabh Arora produced the order “to the great discomfort of the petitioner and to his peril”.
Justice Raina added that the conduct was reprehensible and amounted to suppression of material fact and concealment of a judicial order; and the petition was liable to be dismissed on the short ground alone.
Justice Raina added that the petitioner had clearly overreached the court and tried to extract an order unwittingly from court by hiding subsequent order and in this manner had obstructed the administration of justice. The situation was saved with the appearance of the respondents on caveat.
Justice Raina added nothing said in the order would be read as an expression of opinion on the merits of the suit and the trial court would remain uninfluenced by any observations.
High Court imposes Rs1 lakh as costs on NRI
