Bombay HC criticises 'politically induced litigations' in pleas filed by BJP MLA
India Today
The Bombay High Court in a detailed order came down heavily on two PILs filed by BJP MLA Girish Mahajan and citizen Janak Vyas, calling them "politically induced litigations".
After dismissing PILs last week, the Bombay High Court in its detailed order came down heavily on "politically induced litigations". The court had dismissed two PILs filed by BJP MLA Girish Mahajan and citizen Janak Vyas, respectively, challenging rules for the election of speaker and deputy speaker of Maharashtra Assembly.
In the detailed order, the Bombay High Court said “political rivalries have to be resolved elsewhere other than the courts must be the determining principle for holding whether these PIL petitions involve genuine public interest or whether, at all, Vyas or Mahajan satisfies the test of uberrima fides, which is the first requirement for the maintainability of a public interest litigation,” the order read.
The HC last week dismissed the two non-maintainable public interest litigations challenging rules for the election of speaker and deputy speaker of Maharashtra assembly as it found no genuine public interest in the pleas. [Janak Vyas v. State of Maharashtra & connected PIL]
In the 36-page order, the court emphasised that public interest jurisdiction of the High Court should not be “politics interest litigation”. The court was of the view that such litigation stops more deserving cases from being heard.
Before hearing the case, HC asked Vyas and then Mahajan to deposit Rs 2 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, respectively. Because the Advocate General, representing the Maharashtra government, had stated that he had serious objections to these issues being raised in a PIL.
The court later forfeited the amount that had been paid by them. The Bench clarified in the order that the deposits were to be utilised for charitable purposes of providing better facilities and amenities to senior citizens residing in old age homes and destitute and orphan children residing in children's homes and orphanages.
