 and imposed a Cost of Rs.5,000/- upon the petitioner for misusing the process of the High court by filing the petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.){kind=link}
The Rajasthan High Court dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and imposed a cost of Rs 5,000 upon the petitioner for misusing the process of the High Court by filing the petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
The petitioner (Shafi Khan) has filed the PIL against the grant of quarry license to private respondents on the land of Village Keru, Tehsil and District Jodhpur.
The respondents have raised serious objections regarding bonafides of the petitioner in filing the petition. It is asserted that the petitioner himself has a quarry license allotted in the very same khasra and this fact has deliberately been concealed by the petitioner while filing the instant petition.
Moti Singh, the counsel representing the petitioner, frankly conceded that the petitioner did not disclose this fact to him. He came to know about the same through averments made in the reply. He prayed that he may be allowed to withdraw the petition.
While considering the submission, the Division Bench of Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Rajendra Prakash Soni observed that the petitioner has apparently misused the process of the court by filing the petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by falsely styling it to be a Public Interest Litigation and thus, his conduct deserves to be deprecated.
“The writ petition is dismissed as withdrawn while imposing a cost of Rs 5,000 upon the petitioner.”
It is further directed by the High Court that the petitioner shall henceforth not be permitted to file any Public Interest Litigation relating to mining activities in future.