New Indian Assurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Ali Mohammad Dar and Ors. - (High Court of Jammu and Kashmir) (10 Oct 2018)

If any judgment or order is obtained by fraud, it cannot be said to be a judgment or order in law

MANU/JK/0876/2018

Motor Vehicles

Present appeal is against the order passed by the Tribunal. Aggrieved of said order passed in the review petition as also the basic award, the Appellant Company has filed present appeal on the grounds, that the learned Tribunal, while dealing with the review petition, did not provide an opportunity to the Appellant Company for producing the documents and, instead, came to the conclusion that, no new grounds have come to surface.

A claim petition was filed by the Respondents/Claimants on 9th of April, 2008 which was finally disposed of by the Tribunal directing payment of compensation. After passing of the award, the Appellant Company scanned its records and found that the copy of the policy produced by the Respondents was a fake and a fraudulent document.

Before the Tribunal, the Respondents have placed on record a document/policy which appears to be fake and fraudulent policy. A person cannot claim equity, when he has not acted equitably. The policy attached to MP No. 02/2018, filed by the Appellant Company, is a sequel to the fact that, it was valid from 14th of September, 2005 to 13th of September, 2006, while as the Respondents produced the policy before the Tribunal depicting it to be valid from 14th of September, 2006 to 13th of September, 2007, which covered the date of accident also that had taken place on 6th of May, 2007. Fraud vitiates even the most solemn proceedings in any civilized system of jurisprudence.

For a person to get justice, the basic requirement is that, he comes to the Court with clean hands. A solemn duty is cast upon all the Courts to keep the stream of justice unpolluted. Any person who knocks at the portals of the Court must give a full and fair disclosure of all the materials and the process of the Court cannot be allowed to be abused. Fraud destroys the sanctity and the solemnity of the judicial proceedings. No one can be permitted to take umbrage, refuge or shelter under a fraudulent document.

In case titled "A.V. Papayya Sastry & Ors. v. Government of A.P. & Ors.", the Apex Court has opined that, if any judgment or order is obtained by fraud, it cannot be said to be a judgment or order in law. The award passed by the Tribunal requires to be looked into afresh in light of the averments of fraud set up by the Appellant Company in this appeal

It is not a case where the Appellant Company has tried to fill up a lacuna or to patch weak points but it is a case where the Appellant Company has come up with a plea substantiating it by placing on record a document to show that, the Respondents have employed fraud, trickstry and deceit in obtaining the award.

The appeal is allowed and the awards are set aside. The matter is remanded to the learned Tribunal for determining the issue whether the policy on which the Respondents acted and relied was or was not the outcome of a fraud and if so, what shall be its effect.

Relevant : "A.V. Papayya Sastry & Ors. v. Government of A.P. & Ors.", reported in MANU/SC/1214/2007": AIR 2007

Tags : COMPENSATION GRANT REVIEW