The Gujarat High Court imposed a cost of Rs. 25,000/- on the Petitioner and dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed seeking direction to the respondent – authorities to demolish illegal construction put up by the respondent no.5 (Trust) in the open government land of Rajkot.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P. Mayee that it is a wholly misconceived petition filed in the nature of Public Interest Litigation by a person who has filed the first petition virtually for the same reliefs.
On a pointed query made by the Court, the counsel for the petitioner could not substantiate the reasons for filing of the petition.
However, the Bench can cull out the same from the statement made in paragraph of the petition wherein it is noted that after the judgment and order dated 18.4.2023 passed by the Court in the previous petition, relegating the petitioner to approach the Collector, the Collector has passed an order dated 1.6.2023, directing the respondent to maintain status-quo with respect to the subject property.
Noticing the above, the Bench finds that the present petition is nothing but a sheer abuse of the process of the Court.
“For wasting judicial time of this Court and energy of the staff attached to the High Court, for this frivolous writ petition, we dismiss the present writ petition with the costs of Rs.25,000/- which shall be deposited by the petitioner within a period of one week from today before the Registrar General, High Court of Gujarat. The costs so deposited shall be transmitted in the account of the Legal Services Committee, Gujarat High Court”, the order reads.