By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, DEC 05, 2017: BY the present writ petition (PIL), the petitioner approached the Supreme Court seeking a writ of mandamus or any other writ or direction of similar nature to constitute a Special Investigation Team headed by a retired Chief Justice of India to investigate in the matter of alleged conspiracy and payment of bribes for procuring favourable order.

After hearing both sides, the Supreme Court extracted the findings recorded in the case of Kamini Jaiswal ( W.P. (Crl.) No. 176 of 2017, Order dtd. 14.11.2017) whereunder it was inter alia held -

"29. ….. Ultimately after arguing at length, at the end, it was submitted by the petitioner and her counsel that they were not aiming at any individual. If that was not so, unfounded allegations ought not to have been made against the system and that too against the Hon'ble Chief Justice of this country. In case majesty of our judicial system has to survive, such kind of petitions should not have been preferred that too against the settled proposition of law laid down by this Court in the aforesaid decisions of this Court in Dr. D C Saxena (supra) and K. Veeraswami (supra)."

Noting that the FIR which came for consideration in the case of Kamini Jaiswal (supra) and in the present case is the same, the Supreme Court held -

"…The facts, the relief, the submissions being same which was in Kamini Jaiswal (supra), we do not find any good ground to entertain this petition as the matter had already been decided by this Court vide judgment and order dated 14.11.2017 relevant portions of which have already been reproduced above."

The Supreme Court further observed -

"8. The petition is not only wholly frivolous, but contemptuous, unwarranted, aims at scandalizing the highest judicial system of the country, without any reasonable basis and filed in an irresponsible manner, that too by a body of persons professing to espouse the cause of accountability. What an irony of fate, the petitioner has itself forgotten its accountability and filing of such petition may entail in ultimate debarment of such petitioners from filing so-called public interest litigation which in fact has caused more injury to cause of public than subserving it."

Concluding that the present petition, in particular, the manner in which it had been pursued without any remorse by questioning the decision rendered on the subject matter by the Court including the plea taken in the earlier petition is gross abuse of the process of court, the same was dismissed with exemplary costs in order to ensure that such attempt is not repeated in future.

The petition was dismissed and the petitioner was directed to deposit rupees twenty five lakhs before the Registry within six weeks whereafter it was to be transferred to the Supreme Court Bar Association Advocates' Welfare Fund.

(See 2017-TIOL-451-SC-MISC-LB)