Early Times Report
Srinagar, Nov 10: The state high court today dismissed a PIL, seeking directions to authorities to evict security forces from schools occupied by them in the valley.
The direction by a division bench of Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey followed submissions by Director School Education, Kashmir, Ajaz Ahmad Bhat, that no such school as mentioned in the PIL or any other school in the Kashmir was under the occupation of security forces.
The petitioner had referred to a news report about occupation of S P Higher Secondary School, Government Higher Secondary School, Rajbagh, and D A V School, Jawahar Nagar.
"In such circumstances, the statement made by petitioner in the PIL is false and incorrect, the element of professed public interest is lost and it is only for publicity interest," the division bench said.
The court observed that the tool of public interest litigation has been devised to reach injustice wherever it is found overcoming financial, economic, geographical and locus standi barriers so as to strengthen the hand of social action groups.
"The petition styled as PIL has been filed without any empirical research and in a totally casual manner. As a result averments have been made, which have no authenticity; without any supportive documentary evidence.
In fact averments are based on false and incorrect assumption," the court said, observing that the only legal inference that could be raised by the court is that the PIL has been filed not for public interest, but to gain cheap publicity which constitutes an oblique motive.
"Before coming to the court through the PIL, the petitioner has not even bothered to verify the newspaper reports from any reliable source. No doubt, a mere letter or news item can be treated as a PIL but it does not arm the petitioner with a right to approach the court without placing authentic information before the court," the bench said, re-emphasizing that the PIL jurisdiction does not give right to come to the court with bald statements unsupported by material particulars and documents.
The petitioner had sought directions to the authorities to get all security forces, personnel, battalions vacated from all educational institutions of the Kashmir Valley.
It also directed government to make education institutions viable by rectifying the damage, if any, caused by occupation of security forces and draft a comprehensive policy by which no educational institute shall be occupied or used as temporary shelter by the forces.
"In view of the law laid down by the Supreme Court coupled with our finding that this petition has been filed half heartedly and with oblique motive, we deem it appropriate to decline the prayer made by the petitioner," the court said and dismissed the PIL.
"Taking a lenient view, we do not impose any costs on the petitioner keeping in view that the petitioner, an advocate, is at the threshold of his career.
However, we would like to observe that he should remain careful in future and uphold the highest tradition of the legal profession," the court said, a day after it reserved orders. |
