New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday got irked with "frivolous petitions" filed by various state governments and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) despite repeated warnings.
The matter came before a bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan. The bench expressed its unhappiness over an appeal moved by the Jharkhand government in the case of a government employee who has challenged his dismissal from service.
The bench said that, in spite of warnings, the counsel appearing for various state governments and public undertakings have not shown any intention to refrain from filing such frivolous petitions.
The bench said the court is burdened with such frivolous matters, merely because officers of the state governments or public sector undertakings (PSUs) do not have to bear the cost of litigation personally.
"We are fed up with such frivolous special leave petition(s) filed by various state governments and public undertakings," said the bench, adding that it has been saying this for the past six months.
The bench said there is lack of improvement in the attitude of the state governments and public undertakings regarding the issue. The apex court dismissed the Jharkhand government's appeal and imposed a cost of Rs one lakh on it, to be paid within four weeks from the date of the order.
"The cost of Rs 50,000 shall be deposited in the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA), to be used for the purpose of library, and the cost of Rs 50,000 shall be deposited with the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) advocates' welfare fund," the bench said.
The apex court said the state governments and PSUs would be at liberty to conduct an inquiry to identify which officers were responsible for filing such ill-advised petitions and may also seek to recover the cost from them.
The Jharkhand government moved the apex court against order passed by the High Court directing the state to reinstate the services of one Rabindra Gope, who faced a departmental enquiry for alleged indiscipline. He was dismissed from service by an order dated August 2, 2011. The High Court had reinstated him in service.
