Absurd & Downright Preposterous: J&K&L High Court Imposes ₹10,000 Fine For Filing 'Frivolous' PIL Against Hospital Construction Near Army Establishment
The petitioner’s primary concern was that the hospital's proximity to the military establishment—within 100 meters—could be exploited by terrorists or other unlawful elements.
The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court imposed a fine of ₹10,000 on an individual for submitting a "frivolous" petition objecting to the construction of a hospital near the boundary wall of an Army establishment.
The petitioner’s primary concern was that the hospital's proximity to the military establishment—within 100 meters—could be exploited by terrorists or other unlawful elements to carry out surveillance on military activities over the boundary wall.
A Bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Rajesh Sekhri observed that the petitioner failed to provide any evidence to support the claim that constructing a hospital, intended to serve the public, could pose a threat to the Army establishment. The Court said, "The averments relating to terrorists and other unlawful elements make use of the hospital is far-fetched and faithful and most importantly, the institution which is the best placed to raise such an objection at all was the Army itself,"
However, the Court found, "The stand taken by the petitioner is absurd and downright preposterous. It is unimaginable that the interest of the petitioner with regard to the national security and the safety of the military establishment could be greater than that of the Ministry of Defence, which is directly vested with the responsibility of ensuring national security,"
The Court further pointed out that the most appropriate authority to raise such concerns about national security was the Army itself, rather than a third-party petitioner.
The petition was filed as a public interest litigation (PIL), with the petitioner raising issues of potential national security threats from the construction of the hospital. However, the Court said, "This frivolous petition has been filed in order to waste the time of the Court and its resources and, therefore, the same is dismissed at the very threshold with a cost of Rs 10,000 to be paid into the account of the Army Welfare Fund within a period of six weeks from the date of this order,"
Cause Title: Press Core Council v. U.O.I. & Ors.
