NEW DELHI: The Delhi HC has imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on a litigant and her lawyer after finding that a writ petition concerning alleged unauthorised construction had been filed without the petitioner’s signature, a glaring irregularity the Court viewed as a serious abuse of its process. The matter came to light during a hearing before Justice Mini Pushkarna, after counsel for the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) pointed out that the petition bore only the advocate’s signature, not that of the named petitioner.
The Delhi Development Authority’s counsel further submitted that the mobile number and email address listed in the original complaint filed before the Special Task Force were also those of the advocate, not the petitioner.The Bench observed that the identical contact details in the complaint and petition suggested the entire legal action had been initiated by the advocate alone.
“On account of the glaring facts presented before this Court... this Court has taken a very serious view of the matter, where complaints against unauthorised construction are being filed by advocates themselves, and writ petition is being filed without the signatures of the purported litigant,” the Court remarked in its order dated May 30.
Justice Pushkarna strongly criticised what appeared to be an emerging practice of lawyers filing complaints and petitions in their own names but presenting them as though they were acting on behalf of third parties, without proper authorisation or even the basic procedural safeguard of obtaining the client’s signature. The MCD also informed the Court that appropriate action was already underway regarding the allegedly unauthorised construction in question. In a sharp rebuke, the Court dismissed the writ petition and directed that Rs 50,000 in costs be paid jointly by both the petitioner and her counsel to the Delhi HC Advocates Welfare Trust.