NGO draws SC ire on frivolous pleas, fined Rs 25 lakh

New Delhi: Sending a strong message to litigants that frivolous petitions cannot be filed to waste the precious time of the court, the Supreme Court on Monday slapped exemplary costs of Rs 25 lakhs on Suraj India Trust, represented by Rajiv Bhaia, to be paid within a month. The court also imposed a life-long ban on the trust and its representative from approaching any court in future and asked the petitioner to withdraw all pending petitions in various courts.

A three-judge bench of Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Sanjay Kishan Kaul in a brief order referred to the 64 petitions filed by the trust over the years and said in none of the petitions, the court had granted any relief and the intention of the petitioner seems to be to scandalise the judges. Initial petition filed in 2010 related to transparency in collegium in selection of judges and when it was dismissed, several petitions related to it were filed and all were dismissed.  

The order said the waste of judicial time of this court is a serious issue when matters are lagging behind (for disposal) and proceedigns are misused by individuals who are not competent. To prevent misuse of the jurisdiction of the court by individuals who make imaginary and scandalous accusations against judges of Rajasthan High Court and by writing letters to the residence of CJI and other judges making allegations.