The Delhi High Court has imposed costs of Rs. 50,000 on a Petitioner seeking financial assistance of Rs. 70,000 crore and human resources from the government authorities for the implementation of his project on maintaining a clean and healthy environment. (Trilok Goyal vs UOI). The order was passed by a Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan while hearing public interest litigation (PIL) by one Trilok Goyal (Petitioner).
While referring to the problems of waterlogging, air pollution, road accidents, etc, the Petitioner informed that Court that he had a project which, if implemented, would give a clean and healthy environment. The Petitioner, however, did not state or disclose any details of his proposed project to prevent them from getting “in the wrong hands". Stating that the resources required for his proposed project were not within his capacity, he urged the Court to pass an order directing that a team of about 30 persons from various government departments is placed at his disposal.
When the Court inquired about the budget required for the implementation of the proposed project, the Petitioner said that he was uncertain about the exact requirements. However, he submitted that the required budget will be approximately the same as the budget allocated under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA), i.e. approximately Rs.70,000 Crores, which may be provided by the respondent authorities. the Court recorded. In view of the submissions made by the Petitioner, the Court opined that it was not public interest litigation but a "perverse litigation" since it is full of absurdity.
The Court observed that no ground was made out by the Petitioner for allotment of such a huge amount for his project and the petition lacked fundamental particulars including the nature of the proposed project. It ought to be kept in mind that public money and resources cannot be wasted in this manner. This petition is full of absurdity and hence no prayer as prayed for can be granted. The filing of such type of litigation is, to say the least, a complete waste of judicial resources. Delhi High Court opined.
The PIL was thus dismissed with costs of Rs 50,000 on the Petitioner. The costs would be paid by the Petitioner to the Delhi State Legal Services Authority.
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