PRAYAGRAJ, Nov. 4 -- Expressing regret for having been "unduly harsh" towards the Bareilly SSP, the Allahabad high court dismissed two habeas corpus petitions filed by a litigant who concealed prior proceedings to cure defects in his initial filing.

A division bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Achal Sachdev penalised the petitioner Omendra Yadav with Rs.50,000 in costs ( Rs.25,000 per petition) for resorting to "suppressio veri (suppression of truth) and suggestio falsi (suggestion of falsehood)".

The court ordered the amount to be paid directly to Bareilly SSP Anurag Arya within one month, failing which it will be recovered as arrears of land revenue. The petitioner alleged illegal detention by Bareilly Police between May 8 ...