Bombay HC dismisses PIL raising grievances of visually impaired Covid-19 patients in Maharashtra – India Today

Expressing strong disapproval for petitioners who do not follow procedures, the Bombay High Court on Saturday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) raising grievances of visually impaired Covid-19 patients on the ground that the petitioner had not approached the government authorities with a representation before approaching the court.

The Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni was hearing a PIL filed by Sparshdnyan, a fortnightly Braille newspaper. The PIL raised grievances against the approach of the Maharashtra government towards the blind and visually impaired patients affected due to coronavirus.

The moment the hearing began, the bench raised objection to the fact that the petition did not contain any evidence or specific particulars to support the grievance raised. The court noted that the petition did not contain a single averment that pointed to any aggrieved person approaching the organisation for help or any data of the number of people who are aggrieved.

ALSO READ: State can’t provide everything to the homeless: Bombay High Court

Advocate Asim Sarode appearing for Sparshdnyan sought time to bring on record the requisite affidavits and audio clips of the aggrieved blind persons who had purportedly approached the newspaper against the inaction of the state.

The High Court, however, emphasised that they were not inclined to entertain petitions which were being filed without making any representations to the government authorities.

ALSO READ: Bombay High Court to continue with virtual hearings till July end

The bench said, “We are not entertaining such kind of petitions. You could have made a representation. There is not a single annexure to the petition. Not a single complaint on record.”

The HC proceeded to dismiss the PIL stating they want to “deprecate such litigants and such kind of PILs in court.”

However, while dismissing the petition, the bench added that the dismissal will not create any hindrance for the petitioners to file a fresh PIL with specific particulars after approaching the authorities.

ALSO READ: Stop political rallies during Covid-19 pandemic, or else we’ll do it: Bombay HC to Maharashtra govt