In Brief
The appellants, who operated industrial units on disputed land, challenged orders by the Special Tribunal and Special Court declaring them as land grabbers at the behest of a respondent who had been allotted the land. The appellants had never been impleaded as parties, though they knew of the proceedings and had even filed applications to join. The Supreme Court held that since the respondent's title was firmly established by independent evidence and concurrent findings of three forums, and the appellants failed to rebut this or prove continuous possession or clear title, procedural defects raised belatedly could not invalidate the substantive decision. The Court found the appellants lacked clean hands by suppressing their earlier applications. The appeals were dismissed.
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