The Karnataka High Court on Monday imposed an estimated cost of Rs 10 lakh on a PIL applicant, a fish supplier, by suing a fish processing and oil processing company, over his dispute with the company over a business agreement.
Acting bench Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum dismissed the application by one of Prashant Amin, saying, “The petitioner had suppressed the fact that the plea was against his former business associate and the plea was not in public interest but more in the nature of personal interest litigation.”
The court ordered the petitioner to deposit the money in the Advocates ‘Clerks’ Social Security Fund within 30 days. The court said, ” In the considered opinion of this Court, the present case is a personal interest litigation in the form of the PIL.”
The applicant had applied for a current public interest claim that the defendant, the Raj Fish Meal and the Oil Company emitted fish and other contaminants, without treating them, directly into the environment. During the hearing, the defendant’s attorney 6 (Company) informed the court that the current application was not PIL at all. In fact, the applicant had obtained 95 crores from the responding company over a period of time. After breach of contract with the respondent, the applicant then proceeded to file an immediate PIL.
The court observed,
“This is a personal interest litigation by a person who was having business interests with Respondent 6. This is a sheer misuse of the process of law. The petition not only deserved to be dismissed but dismissed with exemplary costs. The petitioner is directed to deposit Rs lakhs with the Karnataka Registered Advocates’ Clerks Association as a large number of Clerks are affected on account of COVID-19.”
The Udupi deputy commissioner has been instructed to take further steps to reimburse the applicant within 30 days, if he fails to make a deposit.
Case Title: Prashanth Amin And the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board
Citation: WP 2866/2021
