The Patna High Court dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed with a prayer to construct the Civil Court Building, Shahpur Patori on the agricultural farm land or 100 metre north of Shahpur Patori Railway Station.
The petitioner one Rajesh Kumar Singh, also seeks for setting aside the proposal of respondent no. 9 (The Circle Officer, Patori, District- Samastipur) and to implement any other proposal beneficial to the people of Shahpur Patori, District-Samastipur.
The reliefs prayed for are in the form of questionnaire as to whether respondent no. 6 (The District Magistrate, Samastipur, District- Samastipur) demanded a proposal from the Revenue Clerk for the aforesaid construction; whether on the report of Revenue Clerk respondent no. 9 sent a proposal and whether the Revenue Clerk sent a proposal for acquiring raiyati lands which are 5 kilometers away and is a flooded area with no access to communication.
“We are afraid that there is no public interest discernible from the aforesaid prayers made which is almost in the nature of seeking information for which there are adequate remedies available under the Right to Information Act, 2005”, the Division Bench of Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Rajiv Roy said.
In any event, the Bench is not convinced there could be any such claim made in public interest, especially when the High Court is in seisin of the infrastructure needs of the District Courts. The land for construction of court complexes are first identified by the local inspection conducted by the District Judge and the District Magistrate upon which a proposal is sent either to the Law Department or to the High Court. The Infrastructure Committee of Judges appointed in the High Court then considers the proposal and then with appropriate consultation with the Law Department and the Building Construction Department approves the identification of the plot and building construction for the purpose of establishment of Courts.