{"id":30496,"date":"2026-08-20T11:17:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T11:17:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/?p=30496"},"modified":"2026-08-20T11:24:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T11:24:20","slug":"forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/","title":{"rendered":"Forum Shopping in India: Supreme Court Doctrine, Clean Hands and Dismissal for Suppression of Facts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 id=\"h-the-doctrine-its-consequences-and-the-duty-of-the-court-to-refuse-relief-on-the-combined-grounds-of-forum-shopping-absence-of-clean-hands-and-suppression-of-material-facts\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Doctrine_Its_Consequences_and_the_Duty_of_the_Court_to_Refuse_Relief_on_the_Combined_Grounds_of_Forum_Shopping_Absence_of_Clean_Hands_and_Suppression_of_Material_Facts\"><\/span>The Doctrine, Its Consequences, and the Duty of the Court to Refuse Relief on the Combined Grounds of Forum Shopping, Absence of Clean Hands, and Suppression of Material Facts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-i-introduction\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"I_Introduction\"><\/span>I. Introduction<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Forum shopping is not a technical irregularity to be waved away as sharp practice by an over-zealous litigant. It is, in the considered and repeated expression of the Supreme Court of India, an abuse of the process of the court that corrodes the credibility of the justice-delivery system, wastes judicial time that belongs to genuine litigants, and rewards the unscrupulous over the deserving.<\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_86 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #0c0c0c;color:#0c0c0c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #0c0c0c;color:#0c0c0c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#The_Doctrine_Its_Consequences_and_the_Duty_of_the_Court_to_Refuse_Relief_on_the_Combined_Grounds_of_Forum_Shopping_Absence_of_Clean_Hands_and_Suppression_of_Material_Facts\" >The Doctrine, Its Consequences, and the Duty of the Court to Refuse Relief on the Combined Grounds of Forum Shopping, Absence of Clean Hands, and Suppression of Material Facts<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#I_Introduction\" >I. Introduction<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#II_What_Forum_Shopping_Is_The_Functional_Test\" >II. What Forum Shopping Is: The Functional Test<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#III_%E2%80%9CCrushed_with_a_Heavy_Hand%E2%80%9D_%E2%80%94_Chetak_Construction\" >III. \u201cCrushed with a Heavy Hand\u201d \u2014 Chetak Construction<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#IV_Forum_Shopping_as_an_Independent_Ground_to_Refuse_Relief_%E2%80%94_The_Bail_Jurisprudence\" >IV. Forum Shopping as an Independent Ground to Refuse Relief \u2014 The Bail Jurisprudence<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#V_The_Cost_of_Habitual_Forum_Shopping_%E2%80%94_Pandurang_Vithal_Kevne\" >V. The Cost of Habitual Forum Shopping \u2014 Pandurang Vithal Kevne<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#VI_The_Doctrine_of_Clean_Hands_and_Suppression_of_Material_Facts\" >VI. The Doctrine of Clean Hands and Suppression of Material Facts<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#VII_Where_the_Two_Doctrines_Converge_The_Combined_Ground_for_Dismissal\" >VII. Where the Two Doctrines Converge: The Combined Ground for Dismissal<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#First_Ground_Abuse_of_Process_Through_Forum_Shopping\" >First Ground: Abuse of Process Through Forum Shopping<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#Second_Ground_Abuse_of_Process_Through_Suppression\" >Second Ground: Abuse of Process Through Suppression<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#Independent_and_Alternative_Grounds_for_Dismissal\" >Independent and Alternative Grounds for Dismissal<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#VIII_What_the_Court_Should_Do\" >VIII. What the Court Should Do<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#1_Reject_the_Pleading_or_Dismiss_the_Proceeding_at_the_Threshold\" >1. Reject the Pleading or Dismiss the Proceeding at the Threshold<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#2_Record_a_Specific_Finding_of_Forum_Shopping\" >2. Record a Specific Finding of Forum Shopping<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#3_Record_an_Independent_Finding_on_Suppression\" >3. Record an Independent Finding on Suppression<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#4_Decline_to_Examine_the_Merits_After_the_Threshold_Findings\" >4. Decline to Examine the Merits After the Threshold Findings<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#5_Impose_Exemplary_Costs_Where_Warranted\" >5. Impose Exemplary Costs Where Warranted<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-18\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#6_Address_Interim_Orders_Obtained_Through_Suppression\" >6. Address Interim Orders Obtained Through Suppression<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-19\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#7_Record_Both_Grounds_Independently\" >7. Record Both Grounds Independently<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-20\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#IX_Conclusion\" >IX. Conclusion<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-21\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/forum-shopping-supreme-court-clean-hands-suppression-material-facts\/#X_Citation_Table\" >X. Citation Table<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This article gathers, and independently verifies, the leading pronouncements of the Supreme Court condemning forum shopping, examines their functional overlap with the doctrine of clean hands and the duty of candid disclosure, and sets out \u2014 with precedent in support of each proposition \u2014 what a court seized of such conduct ought to do: reject the plaint, dismiss the suit or petition, and, where warranted, impose exemplary costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-ii-what-forum-shopping-is-the-functional-test\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"II_What_Forum_Shopping_Is_The_Functional_Test\"><\/span>II. What Forum Shopping Is: The Functional Test<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Supreme Court in <em>Union of India &amp; Ors. v. Cipla Ltd. &amp; Ors.<\/em> undertook the most exhaustive judicial treatment of the concept, and its formulation remains the operative test applied by courts across India:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA classic example of forum shopping is when a litigant approaches one Court for relief but does not get the desired relief and then approaches another Court for the same relief.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2014 <em>Union of India v. Cipla Ltd.<\/em>, (2017) 5 SCC 262<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Court in <em>Cipla<\/em> went further and catalogued additional recognised categories of the vice, including a litigant taking advantage of a divergence of view between two High Courts on the same question, and approaching different courts simultaneously or successively for the same relief through subterfuge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The common thread across every category is functional: the litigant is not seeking adjudication on the merits at all, but is manipulating the architecture of concurrent or successive jurisdiction to manufacture an outcome the law would not otherwise yield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-iii-crushed-with-a-heavy-hand-chetak-construction\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"III_%E2%80%9CCrushed_with_a_Heavy_Hand%E2%80%9D_%E2%80%94_Chetak_Construction\"><\/span>III. \u201cCrushed with a Heavy Hand\u201d \u2014 Chetak Construction<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The foundational rebuke remains <em>Chetak Construction Ltd. v. Om Prakash &amp; Ors.<\/em>, where the Supreme Court, dealing with an irregular order that facilitated bench manipulation, laid down what has since become the most frequently cited sentence in this branch of law:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe certainly cannot approve of any attempt on the part of any litigant to go \u2018forum-shopping\u2019. A litigant cannot be permitted \u2018choice\u2019 of the \u2018forum\u2019 and every attempt at \u2018forum-shopping\u2019 must be crushed with a heavy hand.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2014 <em>Chetak Construction Ltd. v. Om Prakash &amp; Ors.<\/em>, (1998) 4 SCC 577<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This formulation has been reproduced verbatim by the Supreme Court itself in later decisions, including <em>Jagmohan Bahl v. State (NCT of Delhi)<\/em>, 2014 SCC OnLine SC 1024, and has been consistently applied by High Courts across the country to strike down orders and pleadings tainted by forum manipulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-iv-forum-shopping-as-an-independent-ground-to-refuse-relief-the-bail-jurisprudence\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"IV_Forum_Shopping_as_an_Independent_Ground_to_Refuse_Relief_%E2%80%94_The_Bail_Jurisprudence\"><\/span>IV. Forum Shopping as an Independent Ground to Refuse Relief \u2014 The Bail Jurisprudence<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The principle is not confined to civil litigation. In <em>State of Maharashtra v. Pankaj Jagshi Gangar<\/em>, the accused withdrew a bail application pending before a Single Judge and then invoked the writ jurisdiction of a Division Bench, ostensibly to challenge the vires of the special statute, in order to secure interim bail he could not otherwise obtain. The Supreme Court set aside the High Court&#8217;s order in unambiguous terms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe aforesaid can be said to be forum shopping by the accused which is highly deprecated and which cannot be approved. On this ground also, the accused is not entitled to be released on bail and the impugned order passed by the High Court releasing the accused on bail deserves to be quashed and set aside.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2014 <em>State of Maharashtra v. Pankaj Jagshi Gangar<\/em>, (2022) 2 SCC 66<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The significance of <em>Pankaj Jagshi Gangar<\/em> for civil and writ practitioners is structural: the Supreme Court treated forum shopping not as a subsidiary observation in passing, but as an independent and sufficient ground, standing on its own, to set aside the relief granted below \u2014 irrespective of whatever merits might otherwise have existed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-v-the-cost-of-habitual-forum-shopping-pandurang-vithal-kevne\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"V_The_Cost_of_Habitual_Forum_Shopping_%E2%80%94_Pandurang_Vithal_Kevne\"><\/span>V. The Cost of Habitual Forum Shopping \u2014 Pandurang Vithal Kevne<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Where forum shopping is compounded by repetition over years, the Supreme Court has not hesitated to impose exemplary costs in addition to dismissal. In <em>Pandurang Vithal Kevne v. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. &amp; Anr.<\/em>, dealing with a petitioner who had pursued more than a decade of repetitive administrative and judicial remedies against a single, well-reasoned dismissal from service, the Court observed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen litigants \u2026 engage in forum shopping, file repetitive and meritless pleas, and deliberately delay proceedings, they erode the very foundation of our legal system \u2026 It is also the duty of the Courts at different levels to curb such type of litigation so that more time is available for dealing with genuine litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2014 <em>Pandurang Vithal Kevne v. BSNL &amp; Anr.<\/em>, 2024 INSC 1051<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Special Leave Petition was dismissed with costs of \u20b91,00,000, the Court expressly holding that the right of access to courts, though a cornerstone of the constitutional order, is not absolute and must be exercised responsibly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-vi-the-doctrine-of-clean-hands-and-suppression-of-material-facts\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"VI_The_Doctrine_of_Clean_Hands_and_Suppression_of_Material_Facts\"><\/span>VI. The Doctrine of Clean Hands and Suppression of Material Facts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Forum shopping rarely travels alone. It is, in the ordinary course of litigation, accompanied \u2014 and frequently enabled \u2014 by suppression of the fact that an earlier suit, petition, or application on the same cause is pending or has already been decided. Indian law treats this second vice with equal severity under the independent doctrine of clean hands. The governing authority is <em>Dalip Singh v. State of U.P. &amp; Ors.<\/em>, where the Supreme Court, lamenting what it called the decay of ethical values in litigation, held:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn last 40 years, a new creed of litigants has cropped up. Those who belong to this creed do not have any respect for truth. They shamelessly resort to falsehood and unrighteous means for achieving their goals \u2026 the fact remains that a good number of unscrupulous litigants are prevailing upon the courts \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2014 <em>Dalip Singh v. State of U.P. &amp; Ors.<\/em>, (2010) 2 SCC 114<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Court in <em>Dalip Singh<\/em> dismissed the appeal at the threshold for fabrication and suppression of facts, and imposed exemplary costs, holding in terms that a litigant who does not approach the court with clean hands is not entitled to be heard on the merits at all. The same principle, applied specifically to writ jurisdiction under Articles 32 and 226, was affirmed in <em>Prestige Lights Ltd. v. State Bank of India<\/em>, which held that a petitioner invoking the extraordinary, equitable, and discretionary jurisdiction of a constitutional court is duty-bound to place every material fact before the court \u2014 including, self-evidently, the pendency or disposal of an earlier proceeding on the same cause \u2014 and that failure to do so justifies dismissal at the threshold without any inquiry into the merits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A closely allied formulation appears in <em>K.D. Sharma v. Steel Authority of India Ltd. &amp; Ors.<\/em>, which held that a litigant cannot be permitted to play \u201chide and seek\u201d with the court or to adopt a strategy of \u201cpick and choose\u201d in disclosure, and that suppression of a material fact is impermissible even as a technique of advocacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And the oldest of the line, <em>S.P. Chengalvaraya Naidu v. Jagannath<\/em>, remains the classical statement that a judgment or order obtained by withholding a material document from the court is a nullity and that the party responsible deserves to be thrown out of the litigation at any stage \u2014 a proposition of particular force where a plaint conceals the existence of an earlier suit between the same parties on the same cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-vii-where-the-two-doctrines-converge-the-combined-ground-for-dismissal\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"VII_Where_the_Two_Doctrines_Converge_The_Combined_Ground_for_Dismissal\"><\/span>VII. Where the Two Doctrines Converge: The Combined Ground for Dismissal<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The practical significance for a court \u2014 and for counsel resisting a forum-shopped plaint \u2014 lies precisely in the convergence of these two lines of authority. A plaint that (a) is filed after an earlier suit, petition, or application on the same or substantially the same cause has failed to yield the desired relief, and (b) suppresses the existence of that earlier proceeding, presents not one but two independent and mutually reinforcing grounds for dismissal at the threshold:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-first-ground-abuse-of-process-through-forum-shopping\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"First_Ground_Abuse_of_Process_Through_Forum_Shopping\"><\/span>First Ground: Abuse of Process Through Forum Shopping<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First, on the functional test in Cipla and the heavy-hand principle in Chetak Construction, the very act of approaching a second forum for the same relief after failing before the first is itself an abuse of process, sufficient standing alone (per Pankaj Jagshi Gangar) to defeat the relief sought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-second-ground-abuse-of-process-through-suppression\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Second_Ground_Abuse_of_Process_Through_Suppression\"><\/span>Second Ground: Abuse of Process Through Suppression<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Second, on the clean-hands doctrine in Dalip Singh, Prestige Lights, and K.D. Sharma, the suppression of the earlier proceeding is an independent abuse of process that forfeits the litigant&#8217;s right to be heard on the merits at all, irrespective of the underlying strength of the cause of action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-independent-and-alternative-grounds-for-dismissal\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Independent_and_Alternative_Grounds_for_Dismissal\"><\/span>Independent and Alternative Grounds for Dismissal<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Where both features are present \u2014 as they typically are in a deliberately forum-shopped plaint \u2014 the correct judicial course is not merely to weigh the two together but to record findings on each independently, so that the order of dismissal rests on two self-sufficient pillars and is correspondingly more resistant to challenge in appeal or revision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-viii-what-the-court-should-do\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"VIII_What_the_Court_Should_Do\"><\/span>VIII. What the Court Should Do<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Drawing the above authorities together, the following course of action is warranted where a court, at any stage \u2014 including at the threshold, on an application under Order VII Rule 11 CPC, or under the court&#8217;s inherent power \u2014 finds that a plaint or petition is tainted by forum shopping and suppression of the pendency or outcome of an earlier proceeding:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-1-reject-the-pleading-or-dismiss-the-proceeding-at-the-threshold\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Reject_the_Pleading_or_Dismiss_the_Proceeding_at_the_Threshold\"><\/span>1. Reject the Pleading or Dismiss the Proceeding at the Threshold<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Reject the plaint or dismiss the suit\/petition at the threshold. Where the abuse is apparent on the face of the pleadings \u2014 for instance, a suit filed after an identical suit has been withdrawn, dismissed, or is pending elsewhere on the same cause \u2014 the court need not await trial; per K.K. Modi v. K.N. Modi, the inherent power to strike out a pleading as frivolous, vexatious, or an abuse of process may be exercised summarily.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-2-record-a-specific-finding-of-forum-shopping\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Record_a_Specific_Finding_of_Forum_Shopping\"><\/span>2. Record a Specific Finding of Forum Shopping<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Record a specific finding of forum shopping, identifying the earlier forum approached, the relief sought there, the outcome (or non-disposal), and the temporal and substantive identity between the two proceedings \u2014 following the functional test laid down in Cipla.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-3-record-an-independent-finding-on-suppression\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Record_an_Independent_Finding_on_Suppression\"><\/span>3. Record an Independent Finding on Suppression<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Record a separate and independent finding on suppression of material facts, identifying precisely what was withheld and why it was material, applying the clean-hands standard in Dalip Singh and Prestige Lights, so that the order does not rest on forum shopping alone.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-4-decline-to-examine-the-merits-after-the-threshold-findings\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Decline_to_Examine_the_Merits_After_the_Threshold_Findings\"><\/span>4. Decline to Examine the Merits After the Threshold Findings<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Decline to examine the merits of the suppressed or forum-shopped claim once the threshold findings above are recorded \u2014 per Dalip Singh and K.D. Sharma, a litigant who does not come with clean hands is not entitled to be heard on the merits at all, and a merits inquiry at that stage risks legitimising the abuse.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-5-impose-exemplary-costs-where-warranted\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_Impose_Exemplary_Costs_Where_Warranted\"><\/span>5. Impose Exemplary Costs Where Warranted<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Impose exemplary costs commensurate with the abuse, particularly where the conduct is habitual or spans multiple forums or years \u2014 following the \u20b91,00,000 costs order in Pandurang Vithal Kevne and the costs imposed in Dalip Singh.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-6-address-interim-orders-obtained-through-suppression\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"6_Address_Interim_Orders_Obtained_Through_Suppression\"><\/span>6. Address Interim Orders Obtained Through Suppression<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Where the suppression was accompanied by an interim order obtained ex parte on incomplete disclosure, vacate that order forthwith and consider whether the conduct also warrants reference for contempt, consistent with the observation in K.D. Sharma that suppression before a writ court may attract proceedings for abuse of process.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-7-record-both-grounds-independently\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"7_Record_Both_Grounds_Independently\"><\/span>7. Record Both Grounds Independently<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Direct that the order of dismissal record both grounds \u2014 forum shopping and suppression \u2014 as independent and alternative bases, so that an appellate court affirming on one ground need not disturb the finding on the other.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-ix-conclusion\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"IX_Conclusion\"><\/span>IX. Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Supreme Court&#8217;s language across four decades on this question has been unusually direct for judicial prose \u2014 forum shopping is to be \u201ccrushed with a heavy hand\u201d; it \u201chas no sanction in law\u201d; it \u201cerodes the very foundation of our legal system.\u201d Read alongside the equally emphatic line of authority on clean hands and suppression, the message to trial and writ courts is unambiguous: a litigant who manufactures a second bite at a forum that has already refused, or is likely to refuse, relief \u2014 and who conceals that history from the second court \u2014 is not a party whose cause need be examined on its merits. The plaint or petition may, and ordinarily should, be rejected or dismissed at the threshold, with costs, on the combined and independently sufficient grounds of forum shopping and want of clean hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-x-citation-table\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"X_Citation_Table\"><\/span>X. Citation Table<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Case<\/th><th>Citation \/ Case Details<\/th><th>Date of Judgment<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Chetak Construction Ltd. v. Om Prakash &amp; Ors.<\/td><td>(1998) 4 SCC 577 \/ AIR 1998 SC 1855<\/td><td>20-04-1998<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>K.K. Modi v. K.N. Modi &amp; Ors.<\/td><td>(1998) 3 SCC 573; Civil Appeal No. 613\/1998<\/td><td>04-02-1998<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Union of India &amp; Ors. v. Cipla Ltd. &amp; Ors.<\/td><td>(2017) 5 SCC 262 \/ MANU\/SC\/1345\/2016<\/td><td>21-10-2016<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>State of Maharashtra v. Pankaj Jagshi Gangar<\/td><td>(2022) 2 SCC 66 \/ 2021 SCC OnLine SC 1172<\/td><td>03-12-2021<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Pandurang Vithal Kevne v. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. &amp; Anr.<\/td><td>2024 INSC 1051 \/ SLP (C) Diary No. 56230\/2024<\/td><td>20-12-2024<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Dalip Singh v. State of U.P. &amp; Ors.<\/td><td>(2010) 2 SCC 114; Civil Appeal No. 5239\/2002<\/td><td>03-12-2009<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Prestige Lights Ltd. v. State Bank of India<\/td><td>(2007) 8 SCC 449<\/td><td>20-08-2007<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>K.D. Sharma v. Steel Authority of India Ltd. &amp; Ors.<\/td><td>(2008) 12 SCC 481<\/td><td>09-07-2008<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>S.P. Chengalvaraya Naidu v. Jagannath<\/td><td>AIR 1994 SC 853 \/ (1994) 1 SCC 1; Core holding: fraud vitiates judicial acts; a party withholding a material document is liable to be thrown out.<\/td><td>27-10-1993<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Written By: Inder Chand Jain<\/strong><br>Ph no: 8279945021, Email: <a href=\"mailto:inderjain2007@rediffmail.com\">inderjain2007@rediffmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-related-links yoast-seo-related-links\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/shop-and-establishment-act-registration\/\">Shop and Establishment Act Registration<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/delhi-high-court-passing-off-clean-hands-doctrine-more-than-water-vs-nesco\/\">Delhi High Court on Passing Off: Clean Hands Doctrine Defeats Trademark Injunction in More Than Water vs NESCO<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/failure-to-disclose-true-facts-and-suppression-of-material-information\/\">Failure to Disclose True Facts and Suppression of Material Information<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/doctrine-of-clean-hands-suppression-of-material-facts-imposition-of-exemplary-costs-refusal-of-relief\/\">Doctrine of Clean Hands &amp; Suppression of Material Facts-Imposition of exemplary costs &amp; Refusal of Relief<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/revenue-authorities-must-refrain-from-parallel-proceedings-when-civil-court-is-seized-of-the-matter-jk-and-ladakh-high-court\/\">Revenue Authorities Must Refrain from Parallel Proceedings When Civil Court is Seized of the Matter: J&amp;K and Ladakh High Court<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Doctrine, Its Consequences, and the Duty of the Court to Refuse Relief on the Combined Grounds of Forum Shopping, Absence of Clean Hands, and Suppression of Material Facts I. Introduction Forum shopping is not a technical irregularity to be waved away as sharp practice by an over-zealous litigant. It is, in the considered and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":30750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"two_page_speed":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[1008,28],"class_list":["post-30496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-civil-law","tag-civil-law","tag-top-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.2 (Yoast SEO v28.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Forum Shopping in India: Supreme Court Doctrine, Clean Hands and Dismissal for Suppression of Facts - 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