Jammu & Kashmir High Court
National Human Rights Development ... vs Union Of India on 23 August, 2023
Author: Chief Justice
Bench: Chief Justice
HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH
AT JAMMU
[Through Virtual Mode]
WP (C) PIL No. 07/2023
CM No. 5071/2023
Dated: 23rd of August, 2023.
National Human Rights Development Council of India (Trust),
Through its founder trustee Kewal Krishan, Age: 64 Years,
S/O Late Sh. Tej Ram,
R/O Ward No.6, Reasi,
Tehsil & District Reasi.
... Petitioner(s)
Through: -
Mr Ankush Manhas, Advocate.
V/s
1. Union of India,
Through Department of Ayush, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,
68, Ashok Road, Near Gole Dak Khana, New Delhi-110001.
2. UT of Jammu and Kashmir through Chief Secretary, J&K Govt.,
Civil Secretariat, Jammu/ Srinagar.
3. Commissioner Secretary Revenue Department, J&K Government,
Civil Secretariat, Jammu/ Srinagar.
4. Commissioner Secretary Home Department, J&K Government,
Civil Secretariat, Jammu/ Srinagar.
5. Deputy Commissioner, Reasi.
6. Senior Superintendent of Police, Reasi.
7. Jugal Kishore alias Swami Yogananda S/O Dina Nath
R/O Vishvayatanyog Ashram, Katra
8. Suraj Prakash alias Swami Suryananda S/O Dina Nath
R/O Vishvayatanyog Ashram, Katra.
... Respondent(s)
CORAM:
HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE M. A. CHOWDHARY, JUDGE (JUDGMENT) [Chowdhary-J:]
01. This Petition, purported to be in public interest, has been filed for the following relief(s):Page 2 of 9 WP (C) PIL No. 07/2023 CM No. 5071/2023
"A. Writ of Mandamus, commanding the official respondents to take over the control of the Vishwayatan Yog Ashram and ensure that the property is used for the benefit of society and the public. The respondents may be directed to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter and take strict action against those who have misused and embezzled the property of the Ashram;
B. Writ of Mandamus, commanding and directing the respondents to ensure that the property is managed b y a trustworthy and responsible person who can ensure its proper utilization and maintenance. This will not only help in the smooth functioning of the Ashram but will also benefit the pilgrims who visit the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine;
C. Writ of Mandamus, commanding and directing the respondents to constitute a High-Power Committee of Hon'ble Retired Judges and recover the land from the illegal so-called Owners of the Ashram and utilize the same for the Development of area; and D. For issuance of any writ, direction or command which the Hon'ble Court deems fit and proper as per the circumstances of the case in favour of the petitioner and against the respondents."
02. The Petitioner claims to be a founder trustee of the National Human Rights Development Council of India (Trust), which is stated to have been created to work for the development, prosperity, unity and integrity of the country. It is stated that the purpose of the Trust is to work in different States and Union Territories of India for safeguarding the rights of the people of India and that the Trust also works to save animals, birds, forests, water bodies and natural resources which are beneficial for mankind.
03. It is pleaded that on, 1st of March, 1958, the Vishwayatan Yog Ashram Society, an esteemed institution, was formed with a vision to promote the principles of yoga, spirituality, and holistic well-being; that the Society was founded by an eminent group of individuals, who held prominent positions in the socio-political and spiritual landscape of the time; that the initial Board of Trustees comprised distinguished personalities such as S/Shri Jagjivan Ram, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Jai Prakash Narayan, Naval H. Tata, B. L. Jalan, Swami Dhirendra Brahmachari, and Swami Gyananand, each of whom brought their unique expertise and commitment to the Society's noble objectives; that the aforementioned Vishwayatan Yog Ashram Society is sponsored and financially supported by the Union of India, initially through the Ministry of Education and, later, through the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; that over the course of Page 3 of 9 WP (C) PIL No. 07/2023 CM No. 5071/2023 its existence, the Government's financial involvement in the Society has surpassed millions of rupees, encompassing regular grants for diverse purposes, such as land acquisition, construction of buildings and structures, premises development, staff salaries and other remuneration; that these grants have been sanctioned by the Central Government with specific conditions attached thereto, with one of the significant condition stipulating that in the case of a building grant, the Government of India will retain a prior lien on the building to recover the grant amount, if the building ceases to be utilized for the intended purpose; that, additionally, any equipment purchased or building constructed using the aid of grants becomes the property of the Government, and the Society is obliged to maintain audited records, documenting all permanent and semi-permanent assets acquired with the grant; that the society is prohibited from encumbering or utilizing these assets for purposes other than those intended by the grant without prior permission from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; that the Government has directed the society to maintain separate registers for each sanctioning authority, providing a copy to the Ministry annually along with the audited accounts after the financial year; that these conditions underscore the Government's keen interest in ensuring proper utilization and accountability of the grants provided, safeguarding the public funds invested in the society.
04. It is further pleaded that since the Government has not taken over the Vishwayatan Yog Ashram, Katra, Vaishno Devi, District Reasi, UT of J&K, till date, the income and property of Ashram worth thousands of crores of rupees are misused/ embezzled by some persons of vested interest, and that there is no utility of property of the Ashram to the one crore pilgrims who pay obeisance to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, Katra, as such, a considerable portion of the area has remained undeveloped and underutilized. It is averred that if the Government were to take a rightful possession of this property and utilize it for the public's benefit, the entire region, including the residents of Katra town and its surrounding areas, would experience substantial growth and development. In this backdrop, it is pleaded that the current situation is detrimental to the Page 4 of 9 WP (C) PIL No. 07/2023 CM No. 5071/2023 interests of the public, as public property is being used for private gains by unauthorized individuals, and despite the Petitioner's diligent efforts in filing numerous representations before the official Respondents, presenting clear evidence of the discrepancies and the open misuse of public property by private parties, no substantial action has been taken to rectify the situation. Therefore, the Petitioner claims to have been left with no other alternative, but to seek redressal of its grievance through the medium of this Public Interest Litigation Petition.
05. We have heard learned Counsel for the Petitioner and have perused the pleadings on record.
06. This Petition has been filed under the big banner of the 'Public Interest Litigation' and, therefore, it has become imperative to examine what are the contours of the 'Public Interest Litigation'.
07. 'Public Interest Litigation' has been defined in the Black's Law Dictionary as under:
"Public Interest - Something in which the public, the community at large, has some pecuniary interest, or some interest by which their legal rights or liabilities are affected. It does not mean anything so narrow as mere curiosity, or as the interests of the particular localities, which may be affected by the matters in question. Interest shared by citizens generally in affairs of local, State or national Government."
08. The Hon'ble Apex Court in 'People's Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India'; (1982) 3 SCC 235', defined 'Public Interest Litigation' and observed it is a cooperative or collaborative effort by the Petitioner, the State or public authority and the judiciary to secure observance of constitutional or basic human rights, benefits and privileges upon the poor, downtrodden and vulnerable sections of the Society. The 'Public Interest Litigation' is the product of realization of the constitutional obligation of the Court.
09. The concept of 'Public Interest Litigation' is an extremely important jurisdiction exercised by the Hon'ble Supreme Court and the High Courts of the country. The Courts, in a number of cases, have given Page 5 of 9 WP (C) PIL No. 07/2023 CM No. 5071/2023 important directions and passed orders which have brought positive changes in the country. The Courts' directions have immensely benefited marginalized sections of the society in a number of cases. It has also helped in protection and preservation of ecology, environment, forests, marine life, wildlife, etc., etc. The Court's directions, to some extent, have helped in maintaining probity and transparency in the public life. The Hon'ble Supreme Court, while exercising its jurisdiction of judicial review, realized that a very large section of the society because of extreme poverty, ignorance, discrimination and illiteracy had been denied justice from time immemorial and, in fact, that have no access to justice, predominantly, to provide access to justice to the poor, deprived, vulnerable, discriminated and marginalized sections of the Society, the Hon'ble Apex Court has initiated, encouraged and propelled the scope of 'Public Interest Litigation'. This litigation is an upshot and product of the Court's deep and intense urge to fulfil its bounden duty and constitutional obligation. Having said so, unfortunately, of late, it has been noticed that such an important jurisdiction, which has been carefully carved out, created and nurtured with great care and caution by the Courts, is being blatantly abused by filing some Petitions with oblique motives.
10. In 'S. P. Gupta v. Union of India'; 1981 Supp SCC 87', the Hon'ble Supreme Court has found that this liberal standard makes it critical to limit standing to individuals 'acting bonafide'. To avoid entertaining frivolous and vexatious Petitions under the guise of 'Public Interest Litigation', the Hon'ble Apex Court has excluded two groups of persons from obtaining standing in 'Public Interest Litigation' Petitions. First, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has rejected awarding standing to 'meddlesome interlopers'. Second, the Hon'ble Apex Court has denied standing to interveners bringing Public Interest Litigation for personal gain.
11. In 'Chhetriya Pardushan Mukti Sangharsh Samiti v. State of UP; (1990) 4 SCC 449', the Hon'ble Apex Court withheld standing from the applicant on grounds that the applicant therein brought the Suit motivated by enmity between the parties.
Page 6 of 9 WP (C) PIL No. 07/2023 CM No. 5071/202312. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in case titled 'BALCO Employees Union v. Union of India', reported as 'AIR 2002 SC 350', observed that there have been, in recent times, increasing instances of abuse of 'Public Interest Litigation' and, accordingly, devised a number of strategies to ensure that the attractive brand name of 'Public Interest Litigation' should not be allowed to be used for suspicious products of mischief. Firstly, the Hon'ble Supreme Court, in the aforesaid Judgment, has limited standing in 'Public Interest Litigation' to individuals 'acting bonafide'. Secondly, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has sanctioned the imposition of 'exemplary costs' as a deterrent against frivolous and vexatious 'Public Interest Litigation' Petitions. Thirdly, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has instructed the High Courts to be more selective in entertaining the 'Public Interest Litigation' Petitions.
13. In 'State of Uttaranchal v. Balwant Singh Chaufal & Ors.; (2010) 3 Supreme Court Cases 402', the Hon'ble Supreme Court has delineated upon the scope of the 'Public Interest Litigation' in detail and, in Paragraph Nos. 178 to 181, it has been held as under:
"178. We must abundantly make it clear that we are not discouraging the public interest litigation in any manner, what we are trying to curb is its misuse and abuse. According to us, this is a very important branch and, in a large number of PIL petitions, significant directions have been given by the courts for improving ecology and environment, and directions helped in preservation of forests, wildlife, marine life etc. etc. It is the bounden duty and obligation of the courts to encourage genuine bona fide PIL petitions and pass directions and orders in the public interest which are in consonance with the Constitution and the Laws.
179. The Public Interest Litigation, which has been in existence in our country for more than four decades, has a glorious record. This Court and the High Courts by their judicial creativity and craftsmanship have passed a number of directions in the larger public interest in consonance with the inherent spirits of the Constitution. The conditions of marginalized and vulnerable section of society have significantly improved on account of courts directions in the PIL.
180. In our considered view, now it has become imperative to streamline the PIL.Page 7 of 9 WP (C) PIL No. 07/2023 CM No. 5071/2023
181. We have carefully considered the facts of the present case. We have also examined the law declared by this court and other courts in a number of judgments. In order to preserve the purity and sanctity of the PIL, it has become imperative to issue the following directions: -
(1) The Courts must encourage genuine and bona fide PIL and effectively discourage and curb the PIL filed for extraneous considerations;
(2) Instead of every individual judge devising his own procedure for dealing with the public interest litigation, it would be appropriate for each High Court to properly formulate rules for encouraging the genuine PIL and discouraging the PIL filed with oblique motives. Consequently, we request that the High Courts who have not yet framed the rules, should frame the rules within three months. The Registrar General of each High Court is directed to ensure that a copy of the Rules prepared by the High Court is sent to the Secretary General of this court immediately thereafter;
(3) The Courts should prima facie verify the credentials of the petitioner before entertaining a PIL;
(4) The Court should be prima facie satisfied regarding the correctness of the contents of the petition before entertaining a PIL;
(5) The Court should be fully satisfied that substantial public interest is involved before entertaining the petition;
(6) The Court should ensure that the petition which involves larger public interest, gravity and urgency must be given priority over other petitions;
(7) The Courts before entertaining the PIL should ensure that the PIL is aimed at redressal of genuine public harm or public injury. The court should also ensure that there is no personal gain, private motive or oblique motive behind filing the public interest litigation; and (8) The court should also ensure that the petitions filed by busybodies for extraneous and ulterior motives must be discouraged by imposing exemplary costs or by adopting similar novel methods to curb frivolous petitions and the petitions filed for extraneous considerations."
14. Thus, having regard to the aforesaid enunciations of law laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court, it is clear that an attempt has been made to create a body of jurisprudence that accords broad enough standing to Page 8 of 9 WP (C) PIL No. 07/2023 CM No. 5071/2023 admit genuine 'Public Interest Litigation' Petitions, but nonetheless limits standing to thwart frivolous and vexations Petitions. It is unfortunate that even after such a clear legal position, a large number of such frivolous and vexatious Petitions are filed from time to time.
15. Reverting to the facts of the present case, we are of the opinion that this case does not fall within the ambit and scope of the 'Public Interest Litigation', as defined in the aforesaid enunciations of law. The Petitioner has not been able to demonstrate before the Court that substantial public interest is involved in the present Petition or that the Petition is aimed at the redressal of genuine public harm or public injury. The Petitioner has filed the present Petition alleging misappropriation of public funds by the private Respondents herein with regard to Vishwayatan Yog Ashram and seeks direction upon the official Respondents to take over the control of the aforesaid Ashram, which we are not inclined to entertain for the simple reason that we do not see any public interest involved in the Petition so as to warrant exercise of jurisdiction under the scope of 'Public Interest Litigation'.
16. Every case of public funding, or grant-in-aid, does not make out a case of 'public interest'. It has been alleged that the Respondent Nos. 7 and 8 have virtually taken over the affairs of the Ashram, and that they have been mis-utilizing the funds and property of the Ashram to their use. It has not been brought to our notice as to what is the role of other trustees about managing the affairs of the Ashram and as to why the Petitioner, before approaching this Court through this 'Public Interest Litigation' Petition, had not represented to the organization/ department wherefrom public funds flow to the Ashram in question. In fact, on a closer scrutiny of the pleadings on record, we find that there may be some dispute(s) between different factions dealing with the affairs of the aforesaid Ashram, which cannot be sought to be resolved by having recourse to the 'Public Interest Litigation'. The Petitioner has all the fora available for seeking the redressal of its grievance as projected herein this Petition.
Page 9 of 9 WP (C) PIL No. 07/2023 CM No. 5071/202317. For the foregoing reasons and observations made hereinabove, we feel that the instant Petition, in its present form having been filed under the tutelage of 'public interest', is not maintainable and, therefore, the same is dismissed in limini, along with the connected CM.
(M. A. CHOWDHARY) (N. KOTISWAR SINGH)
JUDGE CHIEF JUSTICE
SRINAGAR
August 23rd, 2023
"TAHIR"
i. Whether the Judgment is speaking? Yes.
ii. Whether the Judgment is reportable? Yes.