Supreme Court Imposes Costs, Criticizes Suppression of Facts in Legal Petitions
BACKGROUND
An appeal was brought before the Supreme court by the All-India EPF Staff Federation. The federation challenged an interim order dated March 20, 2024, issued by the Delhi High Court. The primary grievance was that the High Court adjourned the case to September without granting interim relief. During the hearing at the Supreme Court, a vacation bench consisting of Justices AS Oka and Rajesh Bindal noted that the petitioner had suppressed material facts. Specifically, the petitioner failed to disclose an order from May 3, 2024, which recorded that the counsel for the petitioners did not press for an application for an early hearing before the High Court. When the Supreme Court indicated it would impose costs due to this suppression of facts, the counsel for the petitioner apologized and requested leniency. However, Justice Oka emphasized the necessity of a strict approach to put a stop to the growing trend of lawyers suppressing orders and material facts, which causes inconvenience to judges as they have to search High Court websites for factual clarity, citing it as a significant problem given the large number of cases they handle. He expressed the need for the judiciary to take a firm stance against such practices to ensure the integrity of legal proceedings.
UPDATE
The Supreme Court dismissed the Special Leave Petition (SLP) due to the suppression of material facts and imposed a cost of Rs. 25,000 on the petitioners. While dismissing the present SLP the apex court stated the reasoning with which the above conclusion was arrived at i.e. the sequence of events, including the filing of an application for an early hearing and its subsequent dismissal, which was not disclosed in the SLP. The Court directed that the case be listed on 5th September 2024. Most importantly, in the SLP filed in June 2024, the fact of filling the application 26033 of 2024 was suppressed and even the order dated 3rd May 2024 was suppressed. The order underlined the importance of transparency and honesty in legal proceedings, and the necessity for members of the bar to be forthcoming with all relevant information.
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Written by – PRATYASA MISHRA