Setting aside a sub-court order, the Madras High Court has imposed a cost of Rs one lakh on a petitioner for 'fraudulently' filing a civil suit in the sub-court without any cause of action and thereby overreaching orders passed by the court on November 26 last.
The sub-court at Vellore had passed interim injunction restraining The National Securities Depository Ltd and Robert & Ardis James Company Ltd from participating in the annual general body meeting of TMB Limited and from voting despite the High Court's order on November 26 last to conduct the AGM.
A division bench of Justice V Ramasubramanian (since transferred to AP HC) and Justice N Kirubakaran lambasted RVD Ramaiah, who possessed a 'meagre two shares' in TMB, for moving the sub-court 'fraudulently' without any cause of action and thereby overreaching orders passed by the court.
The bench was passing orders on civil revision pleas filed by Sub-Continental Equities Limited in Mauritius challenging the sub-court order. The matter relates to transfer of 95,418 shares in TMB Limited from various NRIs.
Allowing the civil revision pleas, the bench said that "in fact RVD Ramaiah ventured to challenge the hierarchy of the judiciary and the power of the highest court of the state..."
"...By getting orders from the sub court, he only attempted to overreach the order passed by this court. It is nothing but abuse of process of the court. He did not approach the court with bona fide intention ..Therefore, the interim order passed by the trial court dated January 25 and extended subsequently is liable to set aside."
Rapping the lower court judge, the bench said "the learned judge, without even applying his mind meticulously and analyzing the pleadings and documents, passed the interim order contrary to law...And the said order is liable to be erased."
Referring to the advocates who filed the suits, the bench said "lawyers are officers of the court and they should analyze the facts and documents properly and file the case so that truth can be found out by the courts."
"For the sake of parties, incomplete, wrong and misleading allegations should not be made and complete facts should be pleaded, without any suppression whereas in this case, deliberately the direction given by this court has been suppressed in the pleadings, which has been obviously prepared by learned counsel for the plaintiff before the trial court."
The bench then imposed the cost of Rs one lakh on Ramaiah to be paid to Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority, Chennai, within two weeks from date of receipt of a copy of the order.
