TMI Blog2006 (8) TMI 611X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lse claim, false to his knowledge, and a claim which he knew had no basis either in fact or on law. It is therefore clear that the order of the Forest Tribunal was procured by the appellant by playing a fraud and the said order is vitiated by fraud. The fact that the High Court on the earlier occasion declined to interfere either on the ground of delay in approaching it or on the ground that a Second Review was not maintainable, cannot deter a Court moved in that behalf from declaring the earlier order as vitiated by fraud. The High Court, as a court of record, has exercised its jurisdiction to set at naught the order of the Forest Tribunal thus procured by the appellant by finding that the same is vitiated by fraud. There cannot be any doubt that the court in exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 215 of the Constitution of India has the power to undo a decision that has been obtained by playing a fraud on the court. The appellant has invoked our jurisdiction under Article 136 of the Constitution of India. When we find in agreement with the High Court that the order secured by him is vitiated by fraud, it is obvious that this Court should decline to come to his aid by refus ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ward by claimants as also the identities of the lands sought to be claimed, while entertaining applications u/s 8 of the Act. - HON'BLE A.R. LAKSHMANAN AND P.K. BALASUBRAMANYAN, JJ. For the Appellant : V. Giri, M.P. Vinod, Ajay Kumar Jain and Sajith P., Advs For the Respondent : T.L. Vishwanatha Iyer, Sr. Adv., P.V. Dinesh, Sindhu T.P., K.R. Sasiprabhu, Baby Augustine and M.K.D. Namboodiri, Advs. JUDGMENT P.K. BALASUBRAMANYAN, J. 1. Leave granted. 2. In the year 1968, the appellant herein claims to have purchased an extent of 22.25 hectares of land blocked in Survey No.2157 in Palakkayam Village, Mannarghat Taluk. The deed was accompanied by a sketch showing the property conveyed. It is seen that the appellant disposed of almost the entire property by way of assignments mostly in the years 1971 and 1972 and by way of a gift of 5 acres to his brother. Thus, he was left with no property allegedly acquired under the sale deed No. 2685 of 1968 of the Mananarghat sub Registry. 3. On 10.5.1971, The Kerala Private Forests (Vesting and Assignment) Act, 1971 (for short the Act ) came into force. In the year 1979, the appellant filed an application, O. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... decision in the High Court under Section 8A of the Act. The High Court, on 8.3.1983, dismissed the appeal at the stage of admission on the ground that a specific ground of challenge to the finding based on Section 3(3) of the Act had not been raised in the memorandum of appeal. The order of the Forest Tribunal in that sense became final. 4. Due to widespread complaints and emerging public opinion, the Government realised that quite a number of applications before Forest Tribunals for exemption or exclusion were got allowed by unscrupulous elements with the connivance of the Forest Authorities and even of counsel engaged by the State before Forest Tribunals and before the High Court. Hence, an amendment to the Act was brought about with effect from 19.11.1983, conferring a right on the Custodian of Vested Forests to apply for review of the decisions of Forest Tribunals and conferring power on the State Government to file appeals or applications for review in certain other cases before the concerned court and for other incidental matters. Pursuant to this availability of power, the State filed R.P. No.219 of 1987 on 14.3.1987, before the Forest Tribunal seeking a review of the dec ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dismissal of MFA No.328 of 1981 by the High Court at the stage of admission, the State filed RP No.17 of 1991 for a review of the order in the appeal, accompanied by an application for condoning the delay of seven years eight months and twenty six days in filing the review. Without considering the merits of the case or the nature of the attempt made by the appellant as put forward by the State in the petition for review, the High Court on 18.11.1993, dismissed the petition for condoning the delay in filing the review petition on the ground that no sufficient cause had been made out for condoning such a long delay. Consequently, the High Court dismissed the review petition without going into the merits of the same. Though the State of Kerala filed an application for special leave to appeal in this Court as a SLP) No.16318 of 1994, the same was not entertained by this Court and it was rejected on 3.10.1994. 7. The appellant thereafter moved an application under the Contempt of Courts Act before the High Court, which was numbered as CCC 274 of 1997. He complained of non-restoration of the land. In the face of the contempt of court proceedings initiated and entertained by the High C ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and setting aside the order of the Forest Tribunal in OA No.247 of 1979, dismissed that application filed by the appellant before the Forest Tribunal. The High Court also directed the State to take back the 20 acres of land said to have been put in the possession of the appellant during the pendency of the contempt of court case. This decision of the High Court is challenged by the appellant, the applicant before the Forest Tribunal, in these appeals. 9. It is contended on behalf of the appellant that the High Court had far exceeded its jurisdiction and has acted illegally in setting aside the order of the Forest Tribunal which had become final long back and which had been given effect to, that too, by the intervention of the High Court. It is submitted that the High Court had no jurisdiction or authority to set at naught the two earlier orders of Division Benches of co-equal strength and that too at this belated stage and thus the order suffered from patent illegality. On facts it was contended that the finding that the order was procured by the appellant by playing a fraud on the Tribunal was not justified and no occasion arose for the High Court to exercise its jurisdiction u ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... -417) 11. In Corpus Juris Secundum, Volume 49, paragraph 265, it is acknowledged that, Courts of record or of general jurisdiction have inherent power to vacate or set aside their own judgements . In paragraph 269, it is further stated, Fraud or collusion in obtaining judgment is a sufficient ground for opening or vacating it, even after the term at which it was rendered, provided the fraud was extrinsic and collateral to the matter tried and not a matter actually or potentially in issue in the action. It is also stated: Fraud practiced on the court is always ground for vacating the judgment, as where the court is deceived or misled as to material circumstances, or its process is abused, resulting in the rendition of a judgment which would not have been given if the whole conduct of the case had been fair . 12. In American Jurisprudence, 2nd Edition, Volume 46, paragraph 825, it is stated, Indeed, the connection of fraud with a judgment constitutes one of the chief causes for interference by a court of equity with the operation of a judgment. The power of courts of equity in granting such relief is inherent, and frequent applications for equitable relief ag ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... same High Court in Esmile- Ud-Din Biswas and Anr. Vs. Shajoran Nessa Bewa Ors . [132 INDIAN CASES 897]. It was held that it must be shown that fraud was practised in relation to the proceedings in the Court and the decree must be shown to have been procured by practising fraud of some sort upon the Court. In Nemchand Tantia Vs. Kishinchand Chellaram (India) Ltd. [63 Calcutta Weekly Notes 740], it was held that a decree can be re-opened by a new action when the court passing it had been misled by fraud, but it cannot be re-opened when the Court is simply mistaken; when the decree was passed by relying on perjured evidence, it cannot be said that the court was misled. 15. It is not necessary to multiply authorities on this question since the matter has come up for consideration before this Court on earlier occasions. In S.P. Chengalvaraya Naidu (Dead) by LRs. Vs. Jagannath (Dead) by LRs Ors. [(1993) Supp. 3 SCR 422], this Court stated that, it is the settled proposition of law that a judgment or decree obtained by playing fraud on the court is a nullity and non est in the eyes of law. Such a judgment/decree --- by the first court or by the highest court --- has to be trea ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... real facts of the case, and obtaining that decree by that contrivance. This Court in Bhaurao Dagdu Paralkar Vs. State of Maharashtra Ors. [2005 (7) SCC 605] held that: Suppression of a material document would also amount to a fraud on the court. Although, negligence is not fraud, it can be evidence of fraud. 17. Thus, it appears to be clear that if the earlier order from the Forest Tribunal has been obtained by the appellant on perjured evidence, that by itself would not enable the Court in exercise of its power of certiorari or of review or under Article 215 of the Constitution of India, to set at naught the earlier order. But if the Court finds that the appellant had founded his case before the Forest Tribunal on a false plea or on a claim which he knew to be false and suppressed documents or transactions which had relevance in deciding his claim, the same would amount to fraud. In this case, the appellant had purchased an extent of about 55 acres in the year 1968 under Document No. 2685 of 1968 dated 2.6.1968. He had, even according to his evidence before the Forest Tribunal, gifted 5 acres of land to his brother under a deed dated 30.1.1969. In addition, according ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on the Court by holding out that he was the title holder of the application schedule property and he intended to cultivate the same, while procuring the order for exclusion of the application schedule lands. It was not a case of mere perjured evidence. It was suppression of the most vital fact and the founding of a claim on a non-existent fact. It was done knowingly and deliberately, with the intention to deceive. Therefore, the finding of the High Court in the judgment under appeal that the appellant had procured the earlier order from the Forest Tribunal by playing a fraud on it, stands clearly established. It was not a case of the appellant merely putting forward a false claim or obtaining a judgment based on perjured evidence. This was a case where on a fundamental fact of entitlement to relief, he had deliberately misled the Court by suppressing vital information and putting forward a false claim, false to his knowledge, and a claim which he knew had no basis either in fact or on law. It is therefore clear that the order of the Forest Tribunal was procured by the appellant by playing a fraud and the said order is vitiated by fraud. The fact that the High Court on the earlier o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... set aside. In Rex vs. Recorder of Leicester (1947 (1) K B 726) it was held that a certiorari would lie to quash a judgment on the ground that it has been obtained by fraud. The basic principle obviously is that a party who had secured a judgment by fraud should not be enabled to enjoy the fruits thereof. In this situation, the High Court in this case, could have clearly either quashed the decision of the Forest Tribunal in OA No.247 of 1979 or could have set aside its own judgment in MFA No.328 of 1981 dismissing the appeal from the decision of the Forest Tribunal at the stage of admission and vacated the order of the Forest Tribunal by allowing that appeal or could have exercised its jurisdiction as a court of record by invoking Article 215 of the Constitution to set at naught the decision obtained by the appellant by playing a fraud on the Forest Tribunal. The High Court has chosen to exercise its power as a court of record to nullify a decision procured by the appellant by playing a fraud on the court. We see no objection to the course adopted by the High Court even assuming that we are inclined to exercise our jurisdiction under Article 136 of the Constitution of India at the b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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