In Brief
The appellants sought permission to sue as indigent persons but their application was rejected by the Trial Court and the rejection was confirmed by the High Court, citing that the suit was vexatious, an abuse of process, and barred by res judicata. The Supreme Court held that while grounds such as absence of cause of action and being barred by law (per Order 33 Rule 5 CPC) are valid for rejecting an indigent application, the applicants retain the right to pay court fees and proceed with the suit ordinarily. The Court directed that observations made during the indigent application stage should not prejudice any subsequent applications on the suit's merits.
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