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Suneeta Devi vs Avinash and Others

Not available · 2024 INSC 194Decided 11 Mar 2024
Not available
Justice B.R. Gavai · Justice Sandeep Mehta

Background

A village primary school in Azamgarh district, U.P., was demolished to make way for a national highway, and the National Highways Authority of India agreed to build a replacement school on a plot identified by the Land Management Committee and approved by the Sub-Divisional Officer. Two villagers first challenged this through a PIL (dismissed) and then a separate writ petition (also dismissed, with liberty to file a civil suit instead), before filing a third writ petition that concealed the existence of the two earlier, unsuccessful petitions and falsely claimed it was the first such petition filed. The Allahabad High Court allowed this third petition within a day of filing, without formal notice to the appellant (an impleaded respondent) or a proper opportunity for the State to respond, quashing the land allotment for the school.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court found that the High Court's order was passed in "hot haste": the writ petition was decided the very next day after filing, without formal notice to the appellant or a fair opportunity for the State authorities to file a counter-affidavit, based only on oral submissions. The Court held that the writ petitioners had made false and misleading averments by concealing their two previous unsuccessful petitions seeking the same relief, which alone tainted the proceedings and would ordinarily have warranted dismissal with exemplary costs. Because no one appeared to defend the respondents at this stage, the Court refrained from imposing costs but still held the High Court's order was vitiated by patent illegality, perversity, and a violation of natural justice. The Supreme Court set aside the High Court's order and allowed the appeal, restoring the land allotment for the school.

Lesson Learnt

Courts require full and honest disclosure from litigants, concealing earlier unsuccessful petitions seeking the same relief is a serious abuse of process, and any order passed without giving affected parties proper notice and a fair hearing is liable to be set aside regardless of its outcome.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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