The court emphasized the importance of approaching the court with clean hands and bona fide conduct, and imposed costs on the petitioner for non-bona fide conduct.

JUDGMENT

(Prayer: Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for a writ of Mandamus directing the respondents to forthwith hand over possession of the land measuring 800 sq.mtrs. comprised in Survey No.269/4B, Maduravoyal Village & Taluk, Chennai District, previously Tiruvallore District, allotted to the petitioner in terms of G.O.Ms.251/Rev. Department dated 24.03.1994, after removing the encroachments in pursuance of and consequent upon the fourth respondent The Tahsildar, Maduravoyal, letter ref.no. Na.Ka.10079/1994/A1 dated 10.07.2018, calling upon the Inspector of Police, T4 - Maduravoyal Police Station, to provide police protection for removal of encroachments.)

Munishwar Nath Bhandari, CJ.

1. The writ petition has been filed seeking a direction on the respondents to forthwith hand over possession of the land measuring 800 sq.mtrs. comprised in Survey No.269/4B, Maduravoyal Village & Taluk, Chennai District, previously Tiruvallore District, allotted to the petitioner by G.O. dated 24.03.1994 after removing the encroachment.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the allotment of land was made to the petitioner by order dated 24.03.1994 and accordingly, the land in question belongs to the petitioner. At one stage, a direction was given by the respondents to hand over the possession of the land. However, on account of the litigation, the possession of the land could not be given. While going through the affidavit, this Court found that the alleged encroacher has not been impleaded as party respondent. Therefore, learned counsel for the petitioner was asked to justify the filing of writ petition without impleadment of necessary party. Otherwise, the writ petition would suffer from non-joinder of necessary party.

3. Learned counsel states that the petitioner is not aware of the name and whereabouts of the encroacher and therefore, he could not be impleaded as party respondent. However, he submits that the writ petition would not be affected by non-joinder of necessary party. To test the said statement, this Court had taken into consideration certain orders passed in reference to the encroacher and even the proceedings as a consequence thereupon. The documents aforesaid have been filed by none else than the petitioner. Thus in reference to the documents, the petitioner is aware of the person said to have encroached the land.

4. At this stage, learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that even a civil suit has been filed by the encroacher impleading the petitioner as party respondent. But, even thereupon, he has not been impleaded as party respondent in this petition. Hence, this petition not only suffers from non-joinder of parties, but exposes the conduct of the petitioner for making false statement before the Court when he was specifically asked as to why the encroacher has not been impleaded as a party respondent and a statement was made that he is not aware of the encroacher, despite the documents on record and knowing well about them.

5. The conduct of the petitioner is writ large and has to be non-suited on that count alone because platform of the Court is not for making false statement of the fact and that too, when the petitioner was asked to justify non-impleadment of the encroacher as the party respondent.

6. In the light of the aforesaid, when a person is not approaching this Court with clean hands, he has to be non-suited on that ground itself and that too with imposition of costs. Otherwise, the litigants would make a endeavour to use the platform of the Court by making false statement of fact either in the petition or during the course of oral submission before the Court. The practice aforesaid needs to be curbed and deprecated.

7. A perusal of paragraph 20 of the affidavit would further reveal the conduct of the petitioner and the same is quoted below:

"20. One person viz: G.Ponnazhagu by claiming to be physical possession of the lands, filed W.P.No.18278 of 2015 seeking pro