{"id":3797,"date":"2005-05-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2005-05-09T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/gurpal-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-ors-on-10-may-2005"},"modified":"2017-11-22T05:51:12","modified_gmt":"2017-11-22T00:21:12","slug":"gurpal-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-ors-on-10-may-2005","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/gurpal-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-ors-on-10-may-2005","title":{"rendered":"Gurpal Singh vs State Of Punjab &amp; Ors on 10 May, 2005"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"docsource_main\">Supreme Court of India<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_title\">Gurpal Singh vs State Of Punjab &amp; Ors on 10 May, 2005<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_author\">Author: A Pasayat<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_bench\">Bench: Arijit Pasayat, S.H. Kapadia<\/div>\n<pre>           CASE NO.:\nAppeal (civil)  2802-2803 of 2002\n\nPETITIONER:\nGurpal Singh\n\nRESPONDENT:\nState of Punjab &amp; Ors\n\nDATE OF JUDGMENT: 10\/05\/2005\n\nBENCH:\nARIJIT PASAYAT &amp; S.H. KAPADIA\n\nJUDGMENT:\n<\/pre>\n<p>J U D G M E N T<\/p>\n<p>ARIJIT PASAYAT, J.\n<\/p>\n<p>\tBy the impugned judgment a Division Bench of the Punjab<br \/>\nand Haryana High Court held that the appointment of the<br \/>\nappellant as Auction Recorder of the Market Committee,<br \/>\nPatran was invalid and illegal.  The said order came to be<br \/>\npassed on the basis of a Writ Petition filed by  respondent<br \/>\nNo. 4.  It is to be noted that the said petition was styled<br \/>\nas a Public Interest Litigation (in short &#8216;PIL&#8217;).\n<\/p>\n<p> A brief reference to the factual aspect would be<br \/>\nnecessary.\n<\/p>\n<p>\tAppellant was appointed as Auction Recorder on<br \/>\n19.11.1986.  Appointment of the appellant was challenged by<br \/>\none Ashok Kumar, clerk of the Market Committee by filing a<br \/>\ncomplaint before the competent authority alleging that the<br \/>\nappellant having been convicted under Section 61(1)(a) of<br \/>\nPunjab Excise Act in 1974 for alleged commission of offence<br \/>\non 21.5.1973 and was therefore ineligible for being<br \/>\nconsidered for appointment.  The complaint was looked into<br \/>\nby the Market Committee and by order dated 22nd May, 1989<br \/>\nit was held that the appointment was not contrary to law.<br \/>\nThe Standing Counsel of the Committee categorically opined<br \/>\nthat since no moral turpitude of any kind was involved,<br \/>\nthere was no ineligibility attached to the appellant and his<br \/>\nappointment was in accordance with law.  For the aforesaid<br \/>\npurpose reliance was placed on a decision of the Punjab and<br \/>\nHaryana High Court in the case of Narain Singh v. N.S. Chima<br \/>\n(1997 SLWR 448). On 5.9.1989 appellant&#8217;s services were<br \/>\nregularized under the Punjab Market Committees (Class III)<br \/>\nRules, 1989 which came to be operative after appellant was<br \/>\nappointed. Prior to that no specific Rules were there.  A<br \/>\nCivil Writ Petition No. 3451 of 1989 was filed by one<br \/>\nChandra Bhan before Punjab and Haryana High Court<br \/>\nchallenging the direct appointment of the appellant.  During<br \/>\npendency of the said Writ Petition Sukhjinder Singh  filed a<br \/>\ncomplaint before the Administrator, Market Committee<br \/>\nquestioning appellant&#8217;s appointment.  Notice was issued by<br \/>\nthe Administrator to the appellant, who filed his reply.  A<br \/>\nrevision in terms of Section 42 of the Punjab and Haryana<br \/>\nAgricultural Produce Markets Act, 1961 (in short the<br \/>\n&#8216;Markets Act&#8217;) was filed before the Special Secretary to the<br \/>\nGovernment of Punjab, Department of Agriculture who passed<br \/>\norders to the effect that Administrator should look into the<br \/>\nmatter and take a decision as to whether action against the<br \/>\nappellant was called for. While Writ Petition No. 3451 of<br \/>\n1989 was pending, Civil Writ Petition No. 6180 of 2000 was<br \/>\nfiled by the respondent No. 4 challenging appointment of the<br \/>\nappellant and as noted above the petition was stated to be<br \/>\none in public interest.  Counter Affidavit was filed by the<br \/>\nPunjab Mandi Board and the Market Committee taking the stand<br \/>\nthat since conviction of the appellant did not involve any<br \/>\nmoral turpitude the appointment was in accordance with law.<br \/>\nAppellant also filed counter affidavit before the Market<br \/>\nCommittee questioning locus standi of the Writ Petitioner to<br \/>\nchallenge his appointment. It was pointed out that no public<br \/>\ninterest involved and because of political and personal<br \/>\nrivalry the petition had been filed.  The High Court by the<br \/>\nimpugned order held that since the appellant had been<br \/>\nconvicted by a Court of competent jurisdiction under Section<br \/>\n61 of the Punjab Excise Act, his appointment was not<br \/>\naccording to rules. Therefore his appointment was set aside<br \/>\nand the Punjab Mandi Board and the Market Committee were<br \/>\ndirected to start fresh process of selection for filling up<br \/>\nof the post.\n<\/p>\n<p>\tIn support of the appeal, learned counsel for the<br \/>\nappellant submitted that Writ Petition filed by the writ<br \/>\npetitioner (respondent No. 4) was nothing but a sheer abuse<br \/>\nof process of court.  It was by no stretch of imagination<br \/>\nPublic Interest Litigation and it was filed because of<br \/>\npersonal and political rivalry and ought to have been<br \/>\ndismissed by the High Court. The assertion that appellant<br \/>\nand respondent No.4 were pitted against each other in<br \/>\nseveral elections has not been denied. Even the Punjab<br \/>\nGovernment has as back as on 22.6.1981 issued a Circular<br \/>\nthat only records of conviction for preceding five years<br \/>\nwere to be taken note of.\n<\/p>\n<p>\tLearned counsel appearing for the Market Committee<br \/>\nsupported the stand of the appellant and submitted that<br \/>\nthere was nothing irregular in the appointment of the<br \/>\nappellant and the same was in terms of the rules of<br \/>\nappointment.  Learned counsel for the respondent No. 4, writ<br \/>\npetitioner however, submitted that merely because the writ<br \/>\npetition was filed after fourteen years and because there<br \/>\nwas some personal differences that cannot dilute the public<br \/>\ninterest element involved in the writ petition. It was<br \/>\nfurther submitted that notwithstanding the clear direction<br \/>\nof the High Court to start the process of selection afresh<br \/>\nwithin four months, nothing has been done and this amounts<br \/>\nto contempt of Court.\n<\/p>\n<p> The scope of entertaining a petition styled as a<br \/>\npublic interest litigation, locus standi of the petitioner<br \/>\nparticularly in matters involving service of an employee has<br \/>\nbeen examined by this court in various cases. The Court has<br \/>\nto be satisfied about (a) the credentials of the applicant;\n<\/p>\n<p>(b) the prima facie correctness or nature of information<br \/>\ngiven by him; (c) the information being not vague and<br \/>\nindefinite.  The information should show gravity and<br \/>\nseriousness involved.  Court has to strike balance between<br \/>\ntwo conflicting interests; (i) nobody should be allowed to<br \/>\nindulge in wild and reckless allegations besmirching the<br \/>\ncharacter of others; and (ii) avoidance of public mischief<br \/>\nand to avoid mischievous petitions seeking to assail, for<br \/>\noblique motives, justifiable executive actions.  In such<br \/>\ncase, however, the Court cannot afford to be liberal.  It<br \/>\nhas to be extremely careful to see that under the guise of<br \/>\nredressing a public grievance, it does not encroach upon the<br \/>\nsphere reserved by the Constitution to the Executive and the<br \/>\nLegislature.  The Court has to act ruthlessly while dealing<br \/>\nwith imposters and busy bodies or meddlesome interlopers<br \/>\nimpersonating as public-spirited holy men.  They masquerade<br \/>\nas crusaders of justice. They pretend to act in the name of<br \/>\nPro Bono Publico, though they have no interest of the public<br \/>\nor even of their own to protect.\n<\/p>\n<p>\tCourts must do justice by promotion of good faith, and<br \/>\nprevent law from crafty invasions.  Courts must maintain the<br \/>\nsocial balance by interfering where necessary for the sake<br \/>\nof justice and refuse to interfere where it is against the<br \/>\nsocial interest and public good.  <a href=\"\/doc\/1957056\/\">(See State of Maharashtra<br \/>\nvs. Prabhu,<\/a> (1994 (2) SCC 481), and <a href=\"\/doc\/1697343\/\">Andhra Pradesh State<br \/>\nFinancial Corporation vs. M\/s GAR Re-Rolling Mills and Anr.,<br \/>\n(AIR<\/a> 1994 SC 2151).  No litigant has a right to unlimited<br \/>\ndraught on the Court time and public money in order to get<br \/>\nhis affairs settled in the manner as he wishes.  Easy access<br \/>\nto justice should not be misused as a licence to file<br \/>\nmisconceived and frivolous petitions.  <a href=\"\/doc\/455188\/\">(See  Dr. B.K.<br \/>\nSubbarao vs. Mr. K. Parasaran,<\/a> (1996 (7) JT 265). Today<br \/>\npeople rush to Courts to file cases in profusion under this<br \/>\nattractive name of public interest.  They must inspire<br \/>\nconfidence in Courts and among the public.\n<\/p>\n<p>\tAs noted supra, a time has come to weed out the<br \/>\npetitions, which though titled as public interest<br \/>\nlitigations are in essence something else. It is shocking to<br \/>\nnote that Courts are flooded with large number of so called<br \/>\npublic interest litigations where even a minuscule<br \/>\npercentage can legitimately be called as public interest<br \/>\nlitigations.  Though the parameters of public interest<br \/>\nlitigation have been indicated by this Court in large number<br \/>\nof cases, yet unmindful of the real intentions and<br \/>\nobjectives, High Courts are entertaining such petitions and<br \/>\nwasting valuable judicial time which, as noted above, could<br \/>\nbe otherwise utilized for disposal of genuine cases. Though<br \/>\nin <a href=\"\/doc\/309358\/\">Dr. Duryodhan Sahu and Ors. v. Jitendra Kumar Mishra and<br \/>\nOrs. (AIR<\/a> 1999 SC 114), this Court held that in service<br \/>\nmatters PILs should not be entertained, the inflow of so-<br \/>\ncalled PILs involving service matters continues unabated in<br \/>\nthe Courts and strangely are entertained.  The least the<br \/>\nHigh Courts could do is to throw them out on the basis of<br \/>\nthe said decision. The other interesting aspect is that in<br \/>\nthe PILs, official documents are being annexed without even<br \/>\nindicating as to how the petitioner came to possess them.<br \/>\nIn one case, it was noticed that an interesting answer was<br \/>\ngiven as to its possession. It was stated that a packet was<br \/>\nlying on the road and when out of curiosity the petitioner<br \/>\nopened it, he found copies of the official documents.<br \/>\nWhenever such frivolous pleas are taken to explain<br \/>\npossession, the Court should do well not only to dismiss the<br \/>\npetitions but also to impose exemplary costs. It would be<br \/>\ndesirable for the Courts to filter out the frivolous<br \/>\npetitions and dismiss them with costs as afore-stated so<br \/>\nthat the message goes in the right direction that petitions<br \/>\nfiled with oblique motive do not have the approval of the<br \/>\nCourts.\n<\/p>\n<p>\tThe aforesaid position was highlighted in Ashok Kumar<br \/>\nPandey v. State of W.B. (2004 (3) SCC 349).\n<\/p>\n<p>It is depressing to note that on account of such<br \/>\ntrumpery proceedings initiated before the Courts,<br \/>\ninnumerable days are wasted, which time otherwise could have<br \/>\nbeen spent for the disposal of cases of the genuine<br \/>\nlitigants. Though we spare no efforts in fostering and<br \/>\ndeveloping the laudable concept of PIL and extending our<br \/>\nlong arm of sympathy to the poor, the ignorant, the<br \/>\noppressed and the needy whose fundamental rights are<br \/>\ninfringed and violated and whose grievance go unnoticed, un-<br \/>\nrepresented and unheard; yet we cannot avoid but express our<br \/>\nopinion that while genuine litigants with legitimate<br \/>\ngrievances relating to civil matters involving properties<br \/>\nworth hundreds of millions of rupees and substantial rights<br \/>\nand criminal cases in which persons sentenced to death<br \/>\nfacing gallows under untold agony and persons sentenced to<br \/>\nlife imprisonment and kept in incarceration for long years,<br \/>\npersons suffering from undue delay in service matters &#8211;<br \/>\ngovernment or private, persons awaiting the disposal of tax<br \/>\ncases wherein huge amounts of public revenue or unauthorized<br \/>\ncollection of tax amounts are locked up, detenu expecting<br \/>\ntheir release from the detention orders etc. etc. are all<br \/>\nstanding in a long serpentine queue for years with the fond<br \/>\nhope of getting into the Courts and having their grievances<br \/>\nredressed, the busy bodies, meddlesome interlopers,<br \/>\nwayfarers or officious interveners having absolutely no real<br \/>\npublic interest except for personal gain or private profit<br \/>\neither of themselves or as a proxy of others or for any<br \/>\nother extraneous motivation or for glare of publicity break<br \/>\nthe queue muffing their faces by wearing the mask of public<br \/>\ninterest litigation and get into the Courts by filing<br \/>\nvexatious and frivolous petitions of luxury litigants who<br \/>\nhave nothing to loose but trying to gain for nothing and<br \/>\nthus criminally waste the valuable time of the Courts and as<br \/>\na result of which the queue standing outside the doors of<br \/>\nthe court never moves, which piquant situation creates<br \/>\nfrustration in the minds of the genuine litigants.\n<\/p>\n<p>Public interest litigation is a weapon which has to be<br \/>\nused with great care and circumspection and the judiciary<br \/>\nhas to be extremely careful to see that behind the beautiful<br \/>\nveil of public interest an ugly private malice, vested<br \/>\ninterest and\/or publicity seeking is not lurking. It is to<br \/>\nbe used as an effective weapon in the armory of law for<br \/>\ndelivering social justice to the citizens.  The attractive<br \/>\nbrand name of public interest litigation should not be<br \/>\nallowed to be used for suspicious products of mischief.  It<br \/>\nshould be aimed at redressal of genuine public wrong or<br \/>\npublic injury and not publicity oriented or founded on<br \/>\npersonal vendetta.  As indicated above, Court must be<br \/>\ncareful to see that a body of persons or member of public,<br \/>\nwho approaches the court is acting bona fide and not for<br \/>\npersonal gain or private motive or political motivation or<br \/>\nother oblique consideration.  The Court must not allow its<br \/>\nprocess to be abused for oblique considerations by masked<br \/>\nphantoms who monitor at times from behind. Some persons with<br \/>\nvested interest indulge in the pastime of meddling with<br \/>\njudicial process either by force of habit or from improper<br \/>\nmotives and try to bargain for a good deal as well to enrich<br \/>\nthemselves. Often they are actuated by a desire to win<br \/>\nnotoriety or cheap popularity.  The petitions of such busy<br \/>\nbodies deserve to be thrown out by rejection at the<br \/>\nthreshold, and in appropriate cases with exemplary costs.\n<\/p>\n<p>The Council for Public Interest Law set up by the Ford<br \/>\nFoundation in USA defined the &#8220;public interest litigation&#8221;<br \/>\nin its report of Public Interest Law, USA, 1976 as follows:\n<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Public Interest Law is the name that has<br \/>\nrecently been given to efforts provide legal<br \/>\nrepresentation to previously unrepresented<br \/>\ngroups and interests.  Such efforts have<br \/>\nbeen undertaken in the recognition that<br \/>\nordinary market place for legal services<br \/>\nfails to provide such services to<br \/>\nsignificant segments of the population and<br \/>\nto significant interests.  Such groups and<br \/>\ninterests include the proper<br \/>\nenvironmentalists, consumers, racial and<br \/>\nethnic minorities and others.&#8221; (See : <a href=\"\/doc\/1320207\/\">Dr.<br \/>\nB. Singh v. Union of India and Others<\/a><br \/>\n(2004(3) SCC 363)<\/p>\n<p>\tWhen a particular person is the object and target of a<br \/>\npetition styled as PIL, the court has to be careful to see<br \/>\nwhether the attack in the guise of public interest is really<br \/>\nintended to unleash a private vendetta, personal grouse or<br \/>\nsome other mala fide object. Since in service matters public<br \/>\ninterest litigation cannot be filed there is no scope for<br \/>\ntaking action for contempt, particularly, when the petition<br \/>\nis itself not maintainable. In any event, by order dated<br \/>\n15.4.2002 this Court had stayed operation of the High<br \/>\nCourt&#8217;s order.\n<\/p>\n<p> Judged in the above said background the High Court was<br \/>\nnot justified in entertaining the Writ Petition.  The<br \/>\njudgment of the High Court is indefensible and is therefore<br \/>\nset aside.\n<\/p>\n<p>\tThe appeals are allowed with no orders as to costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court of India Gurpal Singh vs State Of Punjab &amp; Ors on 10 May, 2005 Author: A Pasayat Bench: Arijit Pasayat, S.H. Kapadia CASE NO.: Appeal (civil) 2802-2803 of 2002 PETITIONER: Gurpal Singh RESPONDENT: State of Punjab &amp; Ors DATE OF JUDGMENT: 10\/05\/2005 BENCH: ARIJIT PASAYAT &amp; S.H. KAPADIA JUDGMENT: J U D G [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-supreme-court-of-india"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Gurpal Singh vs State Of Punjab &amp; Ors on 10 May, 2005 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/gurpal-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-ors-on-10-may-2005\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gurpal Singh vs State Of Punjab &amp; 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