The High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Amaravati has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the appointments to several posts in the Sri Venkateshwara Veterinary University, Tirupati.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Ravi Cheemalapati held that the petitioner had a direct and personal interest in the litigation, as his wife had applied for one of the posts and was rejected.
The court observed that the petitioner had filed the PIL to settle personal scores with the university, which is not a genuine public interest litigation.
The court relied on several Supreme Court judgments, including Janata Dal v. H.S. Chowdhary and Dattaraj Nathuji Thaware v. State Of Maharashtra, which emphasizes the need to exercise care and caution while entertaining PILs to prevent their misuse.
The court noted that the petitioner’s wife had applied for the post of Dean of Veterinary Sciences, but was rejected, and the petitioner had waited for his retirement before filing the PIL.
The court held that this was a clear case of personal vendetta and not a genuine public interest litigation.
The court dismissed the PIL with costs of Rs 50,000, which will be deposited in the account of the State Legal Services Authority for the benefit of the visually impaired and hearing impaired.
The court also closed all pending miscellaneous applications.