AJEET KUMAR Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) LEARNED counsel for the parties are present. As prayed, learned counsel for the petitioners is permitted to confine this writ petition to petitioner no. 1 with the liberty to petitioner no. 2 to file a separate writ petition. Since the second set of Court -fee has been filed in the present writ petition, there will be no need to file Court -fee in the second writ petition proposed to be filed on behalf of petitioner no. 2.

(2.) PERUSED the reports. Law is well settled that one writ petition can be filed for one cause of action and the consequential reliefs. Therefore, if different petitioners have separate and distinct cause of action, separate writ petitions will have to be filed by each of them. However if one order is passed, or the impugned action is, against more than one person on a common ground, then single writ petition may be permitted provided the basic facts are common. Office has cited examples where one writ petition with respect to a number of petitioners have been preferred. The same overlooks a few factors. It first of all overlooks that the same may have gone undetected, may be because the Stamp Reporter did not point out the same. Second kind of cases are of the nature indicated hereinabove where cases of more than one person may have been disposed of by a common impugned order, or impugned action, on identical ground(s). Thirdly, there are at times border -line cases which, in common parlance, is described as cases in the grey area, and the Court may lean in favour of petitioners who are students, widows, retired persons, or indigent persons. Furthermore, if such a defect in the frame of the writ petition is detected at an early stage of the proceedings, then the writ petition is directed to be confined to one person and the rest are given liberty to file separate writ petition(s), as has happened in the present case. However, if such a defect is detected at a late stage of the proceedings, i.e., after the proceedings has registered substantial progress, then the defect is condoned in the interest of justice on payment of separate Court -fee for each petitioner which too, perhaps, is condoned in cases of students. See CWJC No. 5145 of 2005.