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Supreme Court says judge is on trial when parties know truth
The Supreme Court has criticised both a litigant and her former lawyer for wasting judicial time, observing that in cases where parties already know the truth, 'it is the judge who is…
The Supreme Court has criticised both a litigant and her former lawyer for wasting judicial time, observing that in cases where parties already know the truth, 'it is the judge who is on trial'. A bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath directed each to pay Rs 5 lakh in costs for suppressing facts and creating a manufactured dispute.
The case stems from a decade-old allegation by a woman against a senior Maharashtra police officer. She accused her lawyer of colluding with the officer and leaking confidential material. The Bar Council of India had removed the lawyer for two years, but both parties challenged the decision in the Supreme Court.
Justice Nath noted that neither party left the court with credit, describing suppression, embellishment and afterthought as the common currency of both sides. The court said the machinery of justice is not a facility to settle scores or salvage reputations imperilled by the parties themselves.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The case underscores a growing judicial impatience with litigants who approach the Supreme Court without clean hands. The court's power to impose costs under Article 142 is rarely used but has been deployed more frequently in recent years to deter frivolous litigation. The order sends a signal that parties who suppress facts or collude to create a controversy risk financial penalties regardless of the merits of their underlying grievance. The real test will be whether such costs deter future abuse or remain a rare exception, given that the court hears over 60,000 cases a year.
Source: thehindu.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
