'Revenge Taking Petition': Delhi High Court Imposes ₹25K Cost On PIL Alleging Fraudulent Practices For Securing Employment In Indian Army

The Delhi High Court today dismissed a public interest litigation seeking to prevent the alleged use of fraudulent measures for securing employment in the Indian Army.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna noted that in the garb of public interest, the petitioner had filed a "revenge taking type of petition" against one Karamveer Singh, who was purportedly appointed as a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in the Indian Army in 2015.

The petitioner, Rohit Shukla, appearing in person, alleged that Singh had produced false certificates for securing the employment, and sought that his appointment be cancelled.

At the outset, the Court noted that reliefs were sought against Singh in his absence, as he was not made a Respondent-party.

After hearing Shukla for sometime, the Bench refused to entertain the "so-called PIL" for the following reasons:

1. Karamveer Singh is not joined as a party in the writ petition. "No writ petition can be allowed in the absence of a candidate or an employee whose appointment is sought to be terminated. Such employee ought to be heard by the Court. Such employee is an essential party to the litigation," the Court said.

2. The alleged employment was given in the year 2015, whereas the petition has been preferred with "gross, unexplained delay" in 2022.

3. PIL in a purely service matter for termination of service is not tenable in law.

As a cumulative effect of the aforesaid, the Court opined that there is no substance in the writ petition. It dismissed the same with Rs. 25,000 cost to be deposited with the Delhi Legal State Services Authority within 4 weeks.

Case Title: Rohit Shukla v. DGMS (Army)

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Del) 154