2010 (10) TMI 1213
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....n beneficial legislation and judge made law. We have commenced the order with a prologue of this nature as the gradual undraping of the factual matrix would vividly so reveal. 2. The petitioner Paardarshita Public Welfare Foundation, a non-Governmental organization, represented by Mr. Harkrishan Das Nijhawan, the General Secretary has preferred this Public Interest Litigation with the following prayers: (i) To direct the respondents to initiate thorough investigation on this matter being a very serious issue and register F.I.R. against the indicted government official as well as the contractor, private agencies for bringing shame to our nation and large scale bungling in public fund (Government Money). (ii) Pass such other or further order as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit so these kind of ill malpractices being carried out by government engineers of various department may not reoccur in future besides fixing responsibilities for causing loss to the government exchequer. Further it is humbly submitted that Hon'ble Court may pass orders for ensuring recovery of looted fund, attachment of their properties, lockers and other non declared asset....
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....r, MCD South Zone, Green Park, New Delhi. On a query being made from the petitioner who appeared in person whether he had asked for such informations, he accepted that he had sought such informations. 8. We think it condign to state the relevant portions of the application by which informations were sought under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (for brevity "the 2005 Act"): 6. Provide us the information in Detail about the entire Medical History in which the disease mentioned and the preciousness was suggested to Shri Shri Deepak Hastir currently posted as Deputy Commissioner, Central Zone of MCD, New Delhi. 7. Provide us the information in detail about the all payments was paid to the above hospital for the operation of piles & sterilization, Sexual Disorder in respect of Shri Shri Deepak Hasif currently posted as Deputy Commissioner, Central Zone of MCD, New Delhi till 22-06-2010. xxx xxx xxx 9. Provide us the information in detail about the all complaint received against Shri Shri Deepak Hastir currently posted as Deputy Commissioner, Central Zone of MCD, New Delhi from MCD employees as well as from the general pub....
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....ore, such informations were sought for by him. 11. We can only note that assuming said Mr. Deepak Hastir had so stated, the petitioner should have taken recourse to a course of action as advised in law but could not have asked for such kind of informations. As the General Secretary of Paardarshita Public Welfare Foundation, a Non-Government Organization, which is supposed to be devoted to the public welfare, it was not expected of him to ask for such kind of unwarranted and uncalled for informations. The informations asked for are bound to create a storm in any civilized mind. It is unfortunate that the General Secretary of the NGO is asking about the sexual disorder, DNA test between an officer and his surrogate mother, name of his biological father and step father, name of his mother and surrogate step mother and such other aspects which are beyond the perception of decency and in fact, an invasion into another man's privacy. 12. The 2005 Act was enacted by the Parliament with a definite purpose. We would like to reproduce the preamble to the Act: An Act to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access ....
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....d by their Lordships in Gobind v. State of MP (1975) 2 SCC 148, R. Rajagopal v. State of T.N. (1994) 6 SCC 632 and District Registrar and Collector v. Canara Bank (2005) 1 SCC 496. When any personal information sought that has no nexus with any public activity or interest, the same is not to be provided. In the case at hand, we really fail to fathom how the information sought by the petitioner comes within sufficient public interest. In our considered opinion, the information sought remotely has no relationship with any public activity or interest. In fact, the informations sought are a direct invasion in the private life of the individual. 14. At this juncture, we are disposed to advert to the concept of public interest litigation. In Charan Lal Sahu v. Union of India (1990) 1 SCC 613, it has been held as follows: 36. Therefore, conceptually and from the jurisprudential point of view, especially in the background of the preamble to the Constitution of India and the mandate of the directive principles, it was possible to authorise the Central Government to take over the claims of the victims to fight against the multinational corporation in respect of the claims. ....
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....al (1987) 2 SCC 295 at p. 331 : AIR 1987 SC 1109; Ramsharan Autyanuprasi v. Union of India (1989) Supp 117 SCC 251 and Chhetriya Pardushan Mukti Sangharsh Samiti v. State of U.P. (1990) 4 SCC 449. 16. In The Janata Dal v. H.S. Choudhary and Ors. AIR 1993 SC 892, the Apex Court while dealing with the concept of public interest litigation expressed thus: 47. We shall now briefly deal with the scope and object of 'public interest litigation' (PIL), the horizon of which is widely extended and which at present constitutes a new chapter in justice delivery system acquiring a significant degree of importance in the modern legal jurisprudence practiced by Courts in many parts of the world, based on the principle, "Liberty and Justice for All. 17. In Ashok Kumar Pandey v. State of West Bengal and Ors. AIR 2004 SC 280, it has been held as follows: 12. Public interest litigation is a weapon which has to be used with great care and circumspection and the judiciary has to be extremely careful to see that behind the beautiful veil of public interest an ugly private malice, vested interest and/or publicity seeking is not lurking. It is to be used as an ....
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.... litigation" or "private interest litigation" or "politics interest litigation" or the latest trend "paise income litigation." If not properly and strictly regulated at least in certain vital areas or spheres and abuse averted it becomes also a tool in unscrupulous hands to release vendetta and wreck vengeance, as well to malign not only an incumbent to be in office but demoralise and deter reasonable or sensible and prudent people even agreeing to accept highly sensitive and responsible offices for fear of being brought into disrepute with baseless allegations. There must be real and genuine public interest involved in the litigation and concrete or credible basis for maintaining a cause before Court and not merely an adventure of knight errant borne out of wishful thinking. It cannot also be invoked by a person or a body of persons to further his or their personal causes or satisfy his or their personal grudge and enmity. Courts of justice should not be allowed to be polluted by unscrupulous litigants by resorting to the extraordinary jurisdiction. The credibility of such claims or litigations should be adjudged on the creditworthiness of the materials, averred and not even on th....
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