New Delhi: Describing them as "chronic litigants", the Supreme Court on Wednesday slapped a penalty of Rs 50,000 on a family which litigated over a piece of land for over 40 years.
A bench led by Justice Madan B Lokur held the litigation to be frivolous and dismissed the appeal by M Durga Singh and his family with costs of Rs 50,000 “for taking several courts for a ride through continuous and fruitless litigation spanning several decades."
The court noted that the case over alleged land grabbing was instituted in 1967 by predecessors of the petitioners against the predecessor of the other side.
"The tenacity and stamina with which the appellants have been litigating for decades must be admired, but nothing else," noted the bench.
The first case was filed in 1967, alleging the other side grabbed a piece of land in Hyderabad district. This suit was dismissed in 1975.
Another suit was filed in 1975 for removal of encroachments and the parties compromised.
In 1982, Andhra Pradesh government passed a law against land grabbing and the petitioners filed a fresh case under the new law. This case was also dismissed in 1991.
Another suit was filed in 1993 and the special court junked it in 1994. This order was challenged in the Hyderabad High Court where the petitioners failed and they came to the top court.
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