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TMI Blog2018 (9) TMI 1928X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rit petition and since these documents are the basis of the salary overdrawn calculated by the Administrator and provided to the petitioner the same amounts to suppression of material facts. Whether this Court sitting in its writ jurisdiction should take note of the material suppression by the writ petitioner and dismiss this writ petition? - HELD THAT:- The Indian and English Courts have consistently taken the view that one who approaches the Court must come with clean hands. It is the bounden duty of the Court to keep the stream of justice absolutely clean. Anyone who approaches must give full and fair disclosure of all the materials. The Courts must not allow anyone to abuse the Court process. In case the petitioner conceals anything that is known to be material such an action would lead to an inference of fraud, and even if not fraud, definitely would lead to a presumption that the petitioner has not approached the Court with clean hands - One must be even more careful when one approaches this Court in its extra ordinary jurisdiction for seeking a writ of mandamus and no person can be permitted to adopt dubious, dishonest and fraudulent means and make false averments or conceal ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... xed any supporting documents wherein he has submitted the leave records to the school authorities. 5. Mr. Biswajit De, counsel appearing on behalf of the respondent No. 5 submits that there is gross suppression of material facts before this Court amounting to an abuse of process of Court, as the writ petitioner has suppressed the documents in relation to leave that has been enjoyed by him from 1991 to 2018. He submits that the leave records were reconstructed as per the discussion with the petitioner on May 28, 2018 and the same was also handed over to the petitioner on July 6, 2018. Documents evidencing receipt by the petitioner were handed over to the Court. 6. Counsel appearing for respondent No. 5 further submits that the petitioner has been absent in school in the most part of August and September, 2018 except for a mere 6 days. 7. It has also been brought to my notice by the respondents (neither any statement with regard to the same in the pleadings nor any documents have been annexed to the writ petition) that the petitioner himself had made an application dated April 19, 2018 for sanctioning special leave in exceptional circumstances for a period of 356 days from 2011 to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y threshold. At this juncture, I embark on an examination of the definition of fraud, fraudulent concealment and the doctrine of clean hands, and thereafter, on how Courts in the past have handled such situations. 13. 'Fraud', according to Black's law Dictionary, 10th Edition, is a knowing misrepresentation or knowing concealment of a material fact made to induce another to act to his or her detriment; a reckless misrepresentation made without justified belief in its truth to induce another person to act; a tort arising from a knowing or reckless misrepresentation or concealment of material fact made to induce another to act to his or her detriment. 14. 'Fraudulent concealment" as defined in Black's law Dictionary, 10th Edition, is the affirmative suppression or hiding, with the intent to deceive or defraud, of a material fact or circumstance that one is legally (or, sometimes, morally) bound to reveal. 15. According to the Law Lexicon, Third Edition (2012), the Latin Maxim "Suppressio veri, suggestio falsi" defines that the suppression of the truth is equivalent to the suggestion of falsehood. The suppression or failure to disclose what one pa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . He can be summarily thrown out at any stage of litigation. 6. ...A fraud is an act of deliberate deception with the design of securing something by taking advantage of another. It is a deception in order to gain by another's loss. It is a cheating intended to get an advantage of another........ A litigant, who approaches the Court, is bound to produce all the documents executed by him, which are relevant to the litigation. If he withholds a vital document in order to gain advantage on the other side then he would be guilty of playing fraud on the Court as well as on the opposite party." 19. In a well-known Calcutta High Court case in Chittaranjan Das vs. Durgapore Project Ltd. & Ors. reported in 99 CWN 897 [Coram: Satya Brata Sinha and Basudeva Panigrahi, JJ., the Court observed at paragraph 64 that "Suppression of a material document which affects the condition of service of the petitioner, would amount to fraud in such matters. Even the principles of natural justice are not required to be complied with in such a situation. It. is now well known that a fraud vitiates all solemn acts." 20. In Asiatic Engineering Co. vs. Achhru Ram and others reported in AIR ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... edy will not be granted ex debito justitiae to a person who fails to state in his evidence on moving for the rule nisi that at the time of the proceedings impugned he was unaware of the facts on which he relics to impugn them." 23. As seen from the various judgments discussed above, the Indian and English Courts have consistently taken the view that one who approaches the Court must come with clean hands. It is the bounden duty of the Court to keep the stream of justice absolutely clean. Anyone who approaches must give full and fair disclosure of all the materials. The Courts must not allow anyone to abuse the Court process. In case the petitioner conceals anything that is known to be material such an action would lead to an inference of fraud, and even if not fraud, definitely would lead to a presumption that the petitioner has not approached the Court with clean hands. 24. One must be even more careful when one approaches this Court in its extra ordinary jurisdiction for seeking a writ of mandamus and no person can be permitted to adopt dubious, dishonest and fraudulent means and make false averments or conceal the facts while submitting such a writ petition. If a person d ..... 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