High Court imposes cost on litigant for filing false complaint

The Madras High Court here has imposed a cost of Rs 5,000 on a litigant, who gave a false complaint and filed a habeas corpus petition that his daughter was missing leading police to conducted searches in many places.

A division bench of justices S. Manikumar and V.S. Ravi directed petitioner, Ramiah of Konnappanendhal in Virudhunagar district, to pay the cost, to the Virudhunagar Superintendent of Police in a month's time.
The petitioner had sought a direction to police to rescue his 19-year-old daughter who, he alleged, was abducted by one Periyasamy in January 2013.

Police submitted that it was the petitioner who had given his daughter in marriage to Periyasamy, knowing well that he was already married. Police charged that the petitioner had filed the habeas corpus plea to escape from being implicated in a case registered on the basis of a complaint given by Periyasamy's first wife.

The judges held that the petitioner had unnecessarily made police go to places in search of the girl. They said public money could not be allowed to be wasted on false complaints lodged by people like him, and dismissed it with cost.