In a stern response to Lucknow-based lawyer Ashok Pandey, the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed his plea challenging the reinstatement of Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha membership following a stay of conviction in the Modi surname defamation case.
The apex court, comprising Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta, not only rejected the petition but also imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on the petitioner. The bench criticized Pandey, stating, "This petitioner is in the habit of filing frivolous petitions. This is yet another one."
The court further noted the petitioner's failure to appear on multiple occasions, emphasizing that filing such frivolous PILs not only wastes the court's valuable time but also burdens the Registry. The dismissal of the petition was accompanied by the imposition of a Rs 1 lakh penalty, as per the bench's order.
This incident follows a previous directive by the Supreme Court, where a PIL petitioner was instructed to deposit Rs 5 lakh as costs for a frivolous plea alleging that the Bombay High Court Chief Justice did not use the pronoun 'I' during his oath-taking.
Ashok Pandey's petition contended that, according to the law, a member remains disqualified until acquitted and called for the immediate conduct of bypolls in Wayanad.
The plea argued, "Once a member of Parliament or of a state legislature loses his office by operation of Law in Article 102, 191 of the Constitution r/w section 8 (3) of the Representation of People Act 1951, he will continue to be disqualified until he is acquitted from the charges levelled against him by some higher court."
