CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar seeking a CBI probe into the alleged misuse of official power by DVAC Director A Arun in the backdrop of the adverse comments made against him by a vacation bench.
The first bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan said PILs cannot be used for settling personal scores.
Pointing to certain portions of the order passed by the vacation bench of justices G R Swaminathan and V Lakshminarayanan censuring Arun for invoking the Goondas Act against a realtor, the bench said the observation “unequivocally demonstrates a personal adversarial equation” between the petitioner and the officer.
“It is a well-settled principle of constitutional jurisprudence that a public interest litigation cannot be utilised as a strategic weapon to settle personal scores or satisfy a private grudge. (The Constitution’s) Article 226 jurisdiction must not be abused by individuals who pretend to fight for justice while acting on personal or hidden motives,” it said in the order.
Further, as paragraph 20 of the Varsha Sharma case order explicitly records the hostile backdrop and serious personal allegations made by the petitioner against the officer, the intent behind this petition cannot be termed as purely public-spirited or bona fide.
Consequently, the public interest litigation is not maintainable, the first bench reasoned.