NILAMBER MISHRA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioners by way of Public interest Litigation have sought for appropriate writ, rule, order or direction commanding the respondent No. 1 to entrust the investigation into the allegations made against the respondent No. 10, Sulabh International, Patna and respondent No. 11, Bindeshwar Pathak, to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

(2.) Petitioners claim themselves to be social workers interested in the welfare of the public at large. According to them, a large scale bungling has been done by the respondent No. 10 with the aid and assistance of the other respondents. The further claim of the petitioners is that the State Government has granted approval for handing over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation but the respondent No. 1 is sitting tight over the matter with the result that no progress has been made in the matter so far. On the other hand, claim of the respondent No. 19 is that this writ petition is not maintainable as Public Interest Litigation as the petitioner No. 1 is Vice-President of Gramina Sauchalaya Sansthan, Patna, which is it's competitor in the trade. It is further claimed that in view of growing popularity of the respondent No. 10, several other organisations which are engaged in this trade and are not in a position to compete with it, are making one attempt after other to discredit it by dragging it into unnecessary litigation.

(3.) Heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.