Leave of Court necessary for vexatious litigant to institute or continue any civil or criminal proceedings

(1) If the High Court declares any person to be a vexatious litigant under section 3 of this Act, then, the High Court shall also order that— (a) no proceedings, civil or criminal, shall be instituted by the said person in the High Court or any other Court subordinate to the High Court; and— (b) no proceedings, civil or criminal, if already instituted by the said person in the High Court or any other Court subordinate to the High Court, shall be continued by him, without obtaining leave of the Court: Provided that if such proceedings are proposed to be instituted or continued by the vexatious litigant in the High Court, then, the leave of the High Court shall be obtained and in the case of proceedings in any other Court subordinate to the High Court, the leave of the District and Sessions Judge shall be obtained. (2) Leave shall not be granted unless the High Court or the District and Sessions Judge, as the case may be, is satisfied that the proceedings are not an abuse of the process of the Court and that there is prima facie ground in the proceedings proposed to be instituted or continued by the person declared to be a vexatious litigant. (3) No appeal shall lie against any order refusing leave for the institution or continuance of any proceedings by the person who is declared to be vexatious litigant under section 3 of this Act: Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall apply to any appeal which may lie to or any proceedings before the Supreme Court. (4) If it appears to the High Court that the person against whom an application is made under sub-section (1) of section 3, is unable, on account of poverty, to engage a pleader, the High Court may engage a pleader to appear for him. Explanation.— For the purpose of this section, “pleader” has the same meaning as in clause (15) of section 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908). (5) A copy of every order made under sub-section (1) of section 4 directing any person to obtain leave before instituting or continuing proceedings shall be published in the Official Gazette and may also be published in such other manner as the High Court may think fit.