Indore: Rs 1L cost on respondents for wasting HC’s time in Sanghi property dispute case

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court set aside an order by trial court in connection with distribution of assets of the well-known Sanghi family from the city and imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on respondents for filing an application reportedly to linger on the property distribution case.

Justice Subodh Abhyankar also remanded the case back to the trail court asking it to expedite its disposal.

Sharad Sanghi's younger daughter Jyotsana had filed the first appeal in the High Court after her petition was dismissed by the local court on the ground that the Will was required to be probated.

Citing various judgments by the Supreme Court and the HC, Jyotsana’s counsels RS Jaiswal and Abhinav Malhotra argued in the court that the Will in question was not required to be probated.

After listening to all parties, the HC noted that the Will in question was not required to be probated and the district judge has clearly erred in law in holding that the suit is not maintainable for want of the Will being probated.

With this observation, the HC set aside the district court’s order and remanded back to the district judge for its expeditious disposal.

“This court cannot help but wonder as to what must have prompted the counsel for the defendants (Ragini Sanghi and others) to file such an application…the only explanation that that this court can come up with is, simply to delay the matter and in which the defendants have also partially succeeded as the impugned order was passed on 14.05.2022 and being disposed of on 09.05.2023 ie, just falling short of one year.

Apart from that, there is also considrable waste of the valuable time of this court at the expense of theother more needy and poor litigants'; time which cannot be lost sight of,” the judge said.

He added, “Such practice deserves to be deprecated as the parties or their counsel cannot be allowed to misuse the process of the court in this fashion, and they must realise that every application filed by them has the consequences. Thus, an exemplary cost of Rs 1 lakh is imposed on the defendants which shall be paid intothe employees welfare account of the High Court within two weeks.”