The Gujarat High Court recently refused a Public interest litigation (PIL) petition, citing the petitioner's involvement in six first information reports (FIRs) as a basis for declining to entertain the plea.

The division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P Mayee held, “Having noted that six First Information Reports had been lodged against the petitioner on the allegation of cheating and fraud, as also under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code, we are not convinced with the credential of the writ petitioner to maintain the instant Public Interest Litigation agitating the issue of corruption in MNREGA.”

During the hearing, Advocate Kumar H Trivedi appearing on behalf of the applicant, Bhagirathsinh Jayveersinh Solanki, urged the bench to consider the fact that his client was into social work and the FIRs lodged against him related to private transactions.

However, Chief Justice Agarwal said, “You are facing 6 FIRs. Your credentials don't convince us to hear this PIL. We cannot entertain a PIL by such a petitioner. Sorry.”

"Though you have raised a cause of corruption in the implementation of the MNREGA scheme but we cannot consider your plea because you have six FIRs. Deal with all your cases first and then do social work. We can't hear your plea," Chief Justice Agarwal further said.

The court denied the petitioner the liberty to raise the issue through a third party, explicitly stating that the petitioner should refrain from doing so. Moreover, the court refused to grant the petitioner the option of addressing the matter through someone else.

Appearance: Kumar H Trivedi(9364) For The Applicant(S) No. 1 Mr K.M. Antani Agp For The Opponent(S) No. 1 For The Opponent(S) No. 2,3,4,5

Case Title: Bhagirathsinh Jayveersinh Solanki Versus State Of Gujarat

LL Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Guj) 203

Case No.: R/Writ Petition (Pil) (Writ Petition (Pil)) No. 137 Of 2023

Click Here To Read / Download Judgement