Repeated Filing Of Meritless Petitions Causes Unnecessary Harassment To Public Officials: Punjab & Haryana HC Dismisses Contempt Petition Against IAS Officer
The Punjab and Haryana High Court was considering a contempt petition filed for deliberate disobedience of an earlier order.
Justice Sudeepti Sharma, Punjab & Haryana High Court
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has imposed cost of Rs 50,000 on the litigants for filing a meritless contempt petition where the records showed that there was no disobedience by an IAS Officer. The High Court also held that repeated filing of such petitions causes unnecessary harassment to public officials, who are constrained to defend themselves despite having acted in accordance with law.
The High Court was considering a contempt petition filed for deliberate disobedience of an order dated February 16, 2024.
The Single Bench of Justice Sudeepti Sharma held, “The aforesaid judgments clearly emphasize that frivolous and vexatious litigation must be curbed with a firm hand. The repeated filing of meritless petitions not only results in wastage of precious judicial time but also causes unnecessary harassment to public officials, who are constrained to defend themselves despite having acted in accordance with law.”
“Accordingly, with a view to send a strong deterrent message and to preserve the sanctity of judicial proceedings, this Court deems it appropriate to impose costs of Rs 50,000/- upon the petitioners, to be disbursed to the respondent”, it ordered.
Advocate Saurabh Dalal represented the Petitioner while Additional Advocate General Harish Nain represented the Respondent.
Reasoning
On a perusal of the facts and the records of the case, the Bench noted that the State of Haryana preferred an LPA against the February 16 order which was allowed and the order was set aside. Taking note of the fact that the petitioners had placed on record order passed by the LPA Bench, the Bench stated, “Despite having due knowledge of the legal position, the petitioners chose to file present contempt proceedings and continued to pursue the same without any justifiable or tenable grounds of law. Such conduct amounts to gross abuse of the process of law and unnecessarily adds to the burgeoning pendency of cases before this Court.”
The Bench was of the view that the litigants were in the habit of blaming/targeting the official respondents unnecessarily. “It is well settled that contempt jurisdiction is required to be exercised with great caution and circumspection and only in cases where willful and intentional disobedience of an order of the Court is clearly made out. The jurisdiction cannot be invoked to settle scores or to unnecessarily harass officials, particularly when the record reflects compliance with the directions issued by this Court”, it added.
Taking note of the file, which showed that there was no disobedience by the respondent, rather, he was doing his duties effectively and efficiently, the Bench was of the opinion that the petition constituted a glaring instance of misuse of the judicial process. “It is, therefore, incumbent upon this Court to safeguard the sanctity of judicial proceedings and to prevent their exploitation by unscrupulous litigants. The time and resources of this Court are limited and must be reserved for bona fide grievances that merit judicial consideration”, it added.
The Bench thus dismissed the contempt petition by imposing a cost of Rs 50,000 upon the petitioners, to be disbursed to the respondent.
Cause Title: Virender Singh and Others v. Jitender Kumar IAS (Neutral Citation: 2026:PHHC:068778)
Appearance
Petitioner: Advocates Saurabh Dalal, Gurasis
Respondent: Additional Advocate General Harish Nain