The High Court of Karnataka has imposed a cost of ₹5 lakh on a person for suppressing clear facts about his antecedents in his litigations before the court challenging the appointment of various persons to the posts of the State Chief Information Commissioner (SCIC) and three posts of the State Information Commissioner (SIC).
A Division Bench comprising Justice B. Veerappa and Justice K.S. Hemalekha passed the order while dismissing a writ appeal filed by Mohan Chandra P., a native of Sullia taluk in Dakshina Kannada.
Mr. Mohan had applied for the posts of SCIC and SIC in 2018 but was not selected. Later, he filed a writ petition before the High Court in 2019 questioning the legality of the selection of four persons who were appointed to these posts. As a single judge in April this year dismissed his petition, he had filed this appeal.
However, the Bench, which heard him for several hours on September 2 found that he had “wasted precious time of the court by filing frivolous petition” being an advocate.
Also, the Bench held that Mr. Mohan was appointed as a civil judge in 2008 and “he was discharged from the judicial service as he was found to be not suitable to hold the post”.
However, he had suppressed all these details of his antecedents while applying for the posts in the State Information Commission as well as in his petition and the appeal before the High Court, the Bench said.
The Bench also noticed that he had merely stated that he was discharged from the post and a writ petition challenging the discharge is pending for adjudication before the court only after his antecedents were brought to the notice of the court by the respondents.
