Allahabad High Court Initiates Suo Moto PIL For Protection Of Defence Land Against Encroachment At Ayodhya

The court was drawn to the issue when a practising advocate at the Civil Court in Ayodhya filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea alleging encroachment on defence land and failure of civil/district authorities to remove it.

However, not finding it appropriate to proceed in the matter at the behest of the petitioner, who allegedly has a criminal history of 4 cases, a bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Om Prakash Shukla disposed of the petition with a direction to the Registry to register a Suo Moto Public Interest Litigation in the matter and place it before the appropriate Bench.

The Court also directed the petitioner that in case he files a Public Interest Litigation, he shall disclose the order dated 25.05.2023 passed in Public Interest Litigation (PIL) No. 483 of 2023, in which a Coordinate Bench of the Court declined to entertain the plea filed by him in respect of the same subject matter.

In the case, the Court had observed that entertaining a Public Interest Litigation at the behest of such a person with a continued criminal history ultimately impures the stream of Public Interest Litigation jurisprudence.

Further, in November 2023, the High Court disposed of yet another petition filed by the petitioner herein, observing that the State land entrusted to the Ministry of Defence cannot be encroached upon or dissipated otherwise in derogation of law.