KARTIK SAHU, OP
Kataka: Public interest litigation (PIL) cannot be filed to serve personal interests, the Orissa High Court ruled Monday, dismissing a petition and imposing an exemplary fine of Rs 50,000 on the petitioner for abusing the judicial process.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Chittaranjan Dash directed the petitioner to deposit the fine with the Odisha State Legal Services Authority within two weeks, specifying that the amount be allocated to an account reserved for juvenile offenders.
The petition had challenged the construction of a marriage hall (kalyan mandap) on privately owned land. In its order, the bench observed that the petitioner had no association with the project, was neither the owner nor possessor of the land, and held no legal claim to the property.
It further noted that the actual landowner had raised no objections regarding the construction. “The landowner enjoys a constitutional right to protect and use their property as they see fit,” the bench stated, noting that the owner had already issued a no-objection certificate for the construction. Under these circumstances, the court ruled that there was no justification for a PIL.