Supreme Court Imposes Rs 5 Lakh Fine for Frivolous PIL Challenging Oath

Supreme Court Imposes Rs 5 Lakh Fine for Frivolous PIL Challenging Oath

VoM News Desk | October 14, 2023 | 03:52 PM IST | Breaking News, Courts & Law | Follow on Google News

Supreme Court Imposes Rs 5 Lakh Fine for Frivolous PIL Challenging Oath

Supreme Court Imposes Rs 5 Lakh Fine for Frivolous PIL Challenging Oath

The Supreme Court has imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on a man for filing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the oath taken by the Bombay High Court Chief Justice. The petitioner, Ashok Pandey, claimed that the oath was “defective” because the Chief Justice did not use the expression “I” before his name while taking the oath, contrary to the Third Schedule of the Constitution. Additionally, he alleged that the representatives and administrator of the Government of the Union Territory of Daman and Diu and Dadar and Nagar Haveli were not invited to the oath ceremony.

Court’s Response

A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud dismissed the PIL, stating that such objections about the oath’s wording could not be raised after it had been administered by the Governor. The court described the PIL as a “frivolous attempt” to use the PIL jurisdiction for publicity and to propagate the petitioner’s views. The judges emphasized that such frivolous PILs consume valuable court resources and divert attention from more serious matters.

Exemplary Costs

The Supreme Court called for exemplary costs to be imposed in such frivolous PILs. It ordered the petitioner to deposit the fine of Rs 5,00,000 with the court’s registry within four weeks. If the cost is not deposited within the stipulated period, it will be collected as arrears of land revenue through the Collector and District Magistrate at Lucknow.

This decision underscores the court’s commitment to preserving the sanctity of the PIL process while discouraging misuse for trivial or publicity-seeking purposes.

VoM News Desk

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