The Delhi High Court has dropped the Rs 1 lakh fine it had imposed on a lawyer who had filed a PIL seeking to restrain media channels from airing sensational headlines on unfounded claims of Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation.
NEW DELHI: Today (May 27): The Delhi High Court waived the Rs 1 lakh fine it had earlier imposed on a lawyer who had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking directions to restrain media channels from creating pressure and airing sensational headlines on unfounded claims of the resignation of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
READ ALSO: PIL Against Arvind Kejriwal’s Arrest Not Maintainable: Delhi HC
The Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora has now ordered the petitioner, Shrikant Prasad, to do community service as per the directions of the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) instead of paying the fine.
The Court has also directed Prasad to attach a copy of the court’s order in this case to any petition he files in the future.
The High Court had earlier dismissed Prasad’s PIL on May 8 and imposed the Rs 1 lakh cost, criticizing the petitioner for seeking a “gag on political rivals,” which the Court said it cannot do.
Prasad, in his application, has now tendered an apology and acknowledged that the petition was bad law.
The High Court had recently also dropped the fine of Rs 75,000 it had imposed on a law student who had sought extraordinary interim bail for Kejriwal, who is currently in judicial custody in the Delhi Excise Policy case.
The PIL filed by Prasad had sought directions to provide adequate facilities to Kejriwal in Tihar jail to enable him to interact with his cabinet members and members of the legislative assembly for the efficient functioning of the Delhi government.
However, on May 8, the Court rebuked the petitioner, stating that the PIL effectively sought to muzzle political opponents, which was beyond the Court’s purview.
Rejecting the plea, the Court had made it clear that it could neither impose censorship by directing media channels not to air their views nor proclaim emergency or martial law by stopping Kejriwal’s political rivals from protesting.
The Court, in rejecting the plea, posed a rhetorical question
Should it resort to declaring an emergency or implementing martial law? It questioned the feasibility of silencing the press or political opponents and emphasized that the prayer in the PIL effectively sought to prohibit criticism or dissent against specific individuals, such as Mr. A or Mr. B.
Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in connection with the Delhi Excise policy case and is currently on interim bail till June 1.
Case Title: Shrikant Prasad v Govt of NCT of Delhi & Ors
