M K Vidyaranya

The current Rs 3,000 fine has failed to control false cases being foisted to victimize innocent citizens.

The Supreme Court has lamented that “lack of appropriate provisions relating to costs has resulted in a steady increase in malicious, vexatious, false, frivolous and speculative suits”. There is an immediate need to stop wasting of time of Judicial system . However people with black money will not be affected  because it’s not their money, it’s the loot. They engage costly lawyers and indulge in never ending judicial farce.

The Supreme Court bench of Justices R V Raveendran and A K Patnaik, in a judgment delivered last month but made available last week , said, “At present, courts have virtually given up awarding any compensatory costs as such a small sum of Rs 3,000 will not make much difference. We are of the view that the ceiling in regard to compensatory costs should be at least Rs 1 lakh.”

It referred to Section 35A of the Civil Procedure Code, which provides for compensatory cost in respect of false or vexatious claims or defence. The maximum amount to be levied on a person indulging in false litigation was amended in 1977 from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000. Justice Raveendran who expressed dismay at the cost remaining unchanged for 34 years said, “Unless the cost is brought to a realistic level, the provision authorizing the levy of an absurdly small sum by present day standards may, instead of discouraging such litigation, encourage false and vexatious claims.”

The bench also did not approve of the current tendency of courts not to award even normal litigation cost-different from exemplary cost-to the litigant who wins a case. “The prosecution and defence of cases is a time-consuming and costly process. A plaintiff/petitioner/appellant who is driven to the court by the illegal acts of the defendant/respondent or denial of a right to which he is entitled, if he succeeds, is to be reimbursed his expenses in accordance with law,” it said.

The court has also made it clear that it was talking of normal litigation cost and it should not be calculated on the basis of the actual cost of fighting a case. For, it said, a wealthy person may engage five senior advocates paying fees running into lakhs per day and the other side cannot be asked to reimburse such astronomical amounts. Every law abiding citizen wants the judiciary to take a stringent action against frivolous litigation.

Though the Supreme Court’s observation may go a long way towards curbing the menace, it remains to be seen whether the much stiffer monetary penalty becomes a serious deterrent also for organizations out to earn cheap publicity.

Persons who want to become rich by circumventing the laws usually file frivilous cases against their rivals by paying some money to needy person and ask him to fight the case and bear all court expenses. If they win the case, they will reap rich harvest and in case they fail they are prepared to pay the fine fixed by the court.

The present amount of fine is so meagre and any one would be ready to pay it.

If the law is amended fixing a jail term for such false cases no one would dare to accept money for fighting such cases as every one fears a jail term.

The only deterrent to curb the menace of frivolous cases is to enact a law fixing 5 year jail term for those who engage in filing such cases for monetary gains or publicity.

Will the Manmohan Singh government take such a bold step ?

(pics:Courtesy:Internet)       -