Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Jun 30: A public interest litigation (PIL) filed in the high court seeking to annul the post of the deputy chief minister (DCM), arguing that there is no provision for the same in the constitution, and seeking to declare taking oath by Dr G Parameshwara as DCM as illegal, was dismissed by the high court on Friday June 29.

The petitioner in the case, Dr Shekhar Iyer from Mysuru, was taken to task by the division bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice, Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Krishna Deekshith, which took the petitioner to task, and also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him. The high court expressed resentment against the petitioner for misusing the PIL provision and wasting the court's time.

Thereafter, Shekhar Iyer repeatedly offered to withdraw his petition and requested the bench not to impose fine on him. But the bench did not heed to his request. "You, being a professor, are in a place of respect in the society. You are expected to guide the society. The society learns by looking at you. You are expected to provide guidance in a positive way and help the society in its path towards progress. But the fact that you filed the PIL and wasted the court's time in spite of knowing everything, cannot be forgiven," the court said.

The Chief Justice remarked that main purpose of PIL provision is to lend voice to the voiceless and others who have no face or name. He observed that because of unwanted applications, people who are waiting in line for justice are unable to get the same from courts.