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Friday, Dec 14, 2007
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‘Court not bound by Bench observations’

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday clarified that the observations made by a two-judge Bench in a recent judgment on the scope of public interest litigation (PIL) were not binding on it.

A three-judge Bench, headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, was dispelling an apprehension on the powers of the court in entertaining PIL petitions. It included Justices R.V. Raveendran and J.M. Panchal.

(On Monday, the two-judge Bench comprising Justices A.K. Mathur and Markandey Katju, calling for judicial restraint, asked courts not to take over the powers of the legislature or the executive.)

Confusion

Earlier, counsel for the Environmental and Consumer Protection Foundation, which is seeking a direction for rehabilitation of about 20,000 widows staying in Vrindavan city in Uttar Pradesh, said Monday’s judgment created confusion over whether courts could take up PIL petitions or not.

The Chief Justice responded saying, “We are not bound by the two-judge Bench order.”

He told counsel: “What we are saying is don’t file petitions based on newspaper reports. Personally verify the facts and if you are satisfied, then file the petition.”

The petitioner said that in Vrindavan it was a hand-to-mouth existence for the widows, most of them abandoned by their families. For singing bhajans in a temple, they were paid Rs. 18 a day, and often they were seen begging.

To a question from the Chief Justice whether he had verified the facts, counsel said the petitioner wrote to district authorities and it was informed that there were only 3,000 widows and all facilities were being provided for their stay. A monthly pension of Rs. 150 was also given but there was no mention of any rehabilitation measure.

When counsel said it was the responsibility of the Centre and the State to take steps for the rehabilitation of the widows and to impart vocational training to them, the Bench said it would examine the matter. It issued notice seeking the response of the Centre and the State Government in four weeks.

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