Time Incorporated vs Lokesh Srivastava And Anr. on 3 January, 2005
43. I am in agreement with the aforesaid submission of learned counsel for
the plaintiff that damages in such cases must be awarded and a defendant,
who chooses to stay away from the proceedings of the Court, should not
be permitted to enjoy the benefits of evasion of court proceedings. Any
view to the contrary would result in a situation where a defendant who
appears in Court and submits its account books would be liable for
damages, while another defendant who, chooses to stay away from court
proceedings would escape the liability on account of failure of the
availability of account books. A party who chooses not to participate in
court proceedings and stays away must, thus, suffer the consequences of
damages as stated and set out by the plaintiffs. There is a larger public
purpose involved to discourage such parties from indulging in such acts of
deception and, thus, even if the same has a punitive element, it must be
granted. R.C. Chopra, J. has very succinctly set out in Time
Incorporated's case (supra) that punitive damages are founded on the
philosophy of corrective justice.