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Vishal Mahajan v. State of Punjab and Others

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 1239 of 2015)Decided 21 Sept 2015
Criminal Appeal No. 1239 of 2015
Justice Anil R. Dave · Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel

Background

The appellant-husband challenged a High Court order that, in the course of a matrimonial matter, had imposed a cost of Rs. 20,000 on him. The husband's position was that he had made a correct and genuine statement regarding settlement between the parties before the High Court. The respondent-wife, though served notice, did not appear before the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court examined the impugned order and accepted that the statement made by the husband before the High Court regarding the settlement was indeed correct. On that basis, it held that the cost of Rs. 20,000 imposed on him was unwarranted and directed that this direction be deleted. The appeal was disposed of as allowed only to this limited extent.

Lesson Learnt

Where a party's statement to a court (e.g., about a settlement) is found to have been accurate, a cost penalty imposed on the mistaken premise that the statement was incorrect or misleading can be set aside on appeal.

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

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