ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has fined an ex-student of Govt High School Reshun, Upper Chitral, for pursuing a frivolous case against the administration of the school for over two decades.
According to the judgement authored by Justice Qazi Faez Isa of the apex court, the counsel representing the appellant stated that his client had attended the Government High School, Reshun in Tehsil Mastuj, Upper Chitral, from 9 September 1994 to 16 November 1995 and had asked the school to issue him a character certificate.
The school issued the character certificate which stated that the appellant was caught cheating in an examination, cheating material was recovered from him.
After reading this in the character certificate, he lost his temper and abused and tore the exam paper, whereafter his name was stuck off from the school’s record.
The appellant filed a suit on 27 February 2007 against the school and its staff which was partially decreed on 10 September 2009 by directing that another character certificate be issued to him which should not state what the earlier one had stated, but the prayer with respect to payment of damages was declined.
The appellant against the decision and vide judgment dated 6 March 2010 the school and other respondents were directed to pay damages of twenty thousand rupees to the appellant.
The school and the other respondents filed a civil revision before the Peshawar High Court against the decision which was allowed.
The appellant then filed another suit in the court of Senior Civil Judge, Chitral on 7 December 2012, seeking damages of an amount of four million, two hundred and sixty one thousand rupees.
The school filed an application under Order VII, rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, seeking rejection of the plaint.
The application was dismissed vide order dated 7 March 2014 and appeal against the same was also dismissed; the school then filed a civil revision wherein the impugned order was passed.
The revision was allowed by accepting the application under Order VII, rule 11 of the Code, and consequently the plaint filed by the appellant was rejected.
“We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and examined the documents on record. We have rarely witnessed such abuse and misuse of the process of the court as in this case. The appellant attended the school for hardly a year and upon his expulsion sought issuance of a character certificate, which was issued recording the above. Somehow the appellant managed to procure a clean character certificate. But, still he was not satisfied.
After almost two decades, he sued for damages. The suit was hopelessly time-barred, yet it was entertained. The learned Judge of the High Court had put a stop to the abuse of the process of the court, but the appellant remains incorrigible. The appellant initiated litigation, including this appeal, which is entirely frivolous.
“The appellant was unnecessarily accommodated and the school and its staff were involved in endless litigation. Court’s time and public resources were squandered. Therefore, this appeal is dismissed with costs throughout and by imposing costs of fifteen thousand rupees herein, which the appellant shall pay to the school,” said the judgement.