'Frivolous Plea': Allahabad HC Imposes ₹5K Cost In PIL For Offering Cane Juice To Jyotirlingam In Varanasi's KV Temple

Allowing the withdrawal of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea seeking a direction to the State government and its authorities to not interfere with Hindu devotees from offering sugarcane juice to Kashi Vishwanath Jyotir Lingam in Varanasi, the Allahabad High Court imposed a cost of Rs. 5,000/- on the Petitioner.

Though the division bench of Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker and Justice Ashutosh Srivastava initially intended to dismiss the petition imposing a cost of Rs.1 Lac on the petitioners, however, only a cost of Rs. 5K was imposed as the counsel for the petitioners sought liberty to withdraw the petition without the imposition of any cost.

"Considering the fact that the petitioners seek to withdraw the Writ (PIL), however, hoping that the petitioners would mend their ways and would not institute such frivolous petition in future, we dismiss the same with cost quantified at Rs.5000/- which the petitioners shall deposit with the Registry of the High Court within three weeks from the date of the order failing which the same shall be recovered as arrears of land revenue," the Bench ordered.

The PIL plea was essentially moved by a firm operating in Varanasi (providing sugarcane juice to devotees) and its proprietor seeking non-interference in the public's right to offer sugarcane juice to the Jyotir lingam inside the Kashi Vishwanath temple 'for the sake of good results for the public' and to get 'dhan' from 'Rudra Abhishek'.

The Writ (PIL) proceeded on the belief that sugarcane juice offered to the Jyotir Lingam inside the Kashi Vishwanath Temple would benefit the public at large and alleviate poverty. It was argued that the sugarcane juice so offered to the Jyotir Lingam would be collected and used for preparing Gur products and could also be offered as fodder for cattle. The local farmers who grow sugarcane shall also benefit from such activity.

Having heard the counsel for the petitioners and perused the record, the court observed that the cause espoused in the PIL plea was not public at all but private. The Court noted that the plea sought to garner benefit for the petitioners' firm which is engaged in the business of extraction of sugarcane juice.

In view of this, not being satisfied by the cause espoused, the Court dismissed the plea as withdrawn.

Read more about the case here: Allahabad High Court Dismisses As Withdrawn PIL For Offering Sugarcane Juice To Kashi Vishwanath Jyotir Lingam In Varanasi

Case title - Mahadev Enterprises Firm and 2 others vs. State of UP and 5 Others 2023 LiveLaw (AB) 285 [WPIL/1953/2023]

Case Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (AB) 285

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