Summary
A public-interest petition sought a special investigation team for an alleged bribery conspiracy connected with a Supreme Court matter. The Court held that identical facts, relief and submissions had already been addressed in Kamini Jaiswal, characterized continued pursuit as gross abuse of process, and dismissed the petition with exemplary costs.
Issues
- Whether the same SIT request warranted consideration after decision of the identical issues in the related petition.
- Whether the manner of pursuing the petition justified exemplary costs.
Held
- The FIR, requested relief and submissions matched those considered in Kamini Jaiswal on14November2017. The Court found no ground to entertain the same issue again and reiterated its concern over successive proceedings and unsupported implications concerning the judiciary. (¶ 5–7)
- The Court characterized the petition as frivolous, contemptuous and an irresponsible attempt to scandalize the judicial system without reasonable basis. Continued pursuit warranted exemplary costs as a response to gross abuse of process. It did not impose a separate contempt punishment or a present filing debarment in the operative order. (¶ 8–10)
Result
Writ petition dismissed withRs25lakh costs, payable to the Supreme Court Registry within six weeks for transfer to the Supreme Court Bar Association Advocates’ Welfare Fund.