HC dismisses PIL, imposes cost on petitioner

Chennai, Feb 27 (UNI) Madras High Court today imposed a cost of Rs 10,000 on a petitioner who had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), holding that his PIL was not in public interest, but with a view to get publicity.

A Division Bench, comprising Mr Justice S J Mukhopadhaya and Mr Justice M Venugopal, while dismissing the petition, said ''no public interest litigation is maintainable with regard to service matters.'' In his PIL, Mr S M Syed Iqbal, who is the Secretary of Tamil Nadu Thouheed Jamaat, submitted that the Registrar of Madras University had decided to recruit teaching faculties for its various departments without complying with the reservation granted to Tamil Nadu Backward Class Christians and Muslims in educational institutions under a state Act, 2007.

The petitioner cited the University Registrar and State Higher Education Secretary as respondents.

Quoting several judgements of the Supreme Court, the Bench said PILs relating to service matters should not be entertained.

Frivolous petitions should be dismissed with costs so that the message goes in the right direction that petitions filed with oblique motives do not have the approval of the court, the Bench quoted from an apex court ruling.

The petitioner should pay the costs to the Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority within six weeks and in case of non-payment, it was up to the authorities to recover the amount from the petitioner, the Bench said.

UNI XR AJ LS KP2035