Courts duty-bound to unearth fraud, says High Court

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 22

In a judgment liable to change the way verdicts are considered to have attained finality, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled a court was duty-bound to unearth fraud and declare orders obtained through deceit unenforceable even if upheld by the Supreme Court.

Justice Anil Kshetarpal asserted the Supreme Court in the case of the “Union of India and others versus Ramesh Gandhi” held that even a court of subordinate jurisdiction was permitted to enter into the question as to whether a superior court’s judgment was obtained by playing fraud. This was because such a judgment was nullity and required to be treated as non est or that did not exist.

The Bench was hearing a case in which a house building society filed a complaint before a consumer disputes redressal forum complaining that the decision to allot plots was not implemented. The plea was allowed vide the order dated February 15, 1996. An appeal filed by the Ludhiana Improvement Trust before the Punjab State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission was dismissed on October 17, 1996.

A revision petition filed by the Trust before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission was also dismissed. Thereafter, the respondent society filed an execution petition to get the possession of the plots as ordered by the consumer forum, which kept moving back and forth. Justice Kshetarpal asserted the Trust filed a writ petition bringing to the court’s notice that a fraud had been played by government officials. It was in collusion with the Trust officer/officials, as well as the officials of certain societies. “This Bench is of the considered view that if a Constitutional Court also closes its door, it would be an inappropriate approach in such circumstances and the court would be abdicating from the responsibility bestowed upon the HC,” he said. “It is declared that once the court comes to a conclusion that the order/orders of a tribunal were obtained by playing fraud, it is the bounden duty of every court to declare the same to be nullity and non est in the eyes of law,” Justice Kshetarpal concluded.