STATE OF JHARKHAND Vs. SHIV SHANKAR SHARMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted. The above two petitions have been filed before this Court by the State of Jharkhand through the Resident Commissioner, challenging the orders dtd. 3/6/2022 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Jharkhand, where the High Court has ordered that the PILs filed by respondent no.1 before the Jharkhand High Court are maintainable, and thus the High Court decided to proceed with the matter on its merits. The petitioner here poses a challenge to the very maintainability of these two PILs. After hearing the parties at length, this Court vide its order dtd. 17/8/2022 had reserved its orders and directed that meanwhile the High Court shall not proceed further with the matter.

(2.) The question before this Court is whether the petitions which have been filed before the Jharkhand High Court in the form of Public Interest Litigations are maintainable in view of the settled position of law laid down by this Court in several of its earlier decisions. The question is also whether these PILs comply with the provisions of the Rules relating to the Public Interest Litigations, which is the Jharkhand High Court (Public Interest Litigation) Rules, 2010 (for short "Rules, 2010") and if they do not, were the petitions filed as PILs liable to be dismissed at the very threshold if they were not in compliance of the provisions of the above Rules relating to PIL.

(3.) Two public interest litigations petitions were filed before the Jharkhand High Court by the same person, i.e., Sri Shiv Shankar Sharma. In the first Writ Petition (PIL) No. 4290 of 2021 the following relief was sought: -