New Delhi: The Supreme Court
today directed that ? 5 lakh cost be recovered from the land of a litigant who
had filed a motivated petition in 2017 challenging the appointment of the then
Chief Justice Dipak Misra.
Swami Om (now deceased) and Mukesh Jain had in 2017
questioned the practise of recommending to the President, the name of successor
by the incumbent Chief Justice of India.
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah also took note
of the application for reduction of cost filed by Mr Jain, who is currently in
Balasore jail in Odisha in another case and said he has again made some
unfounded allegations against the judges of the Supreme Court.
The bench said the competent authority may recover the cost
imposed from the arrears of land of Mr Jain.
It directed that till the recovery of the cost, he would not
be allowed to file any PIL in the Supreme Court.
The top court dismissed his application for reduction of
costs while noting that in 2017, it had imposed ? 10 lakh cost on Mr Jain but
last year it was reduced to ? 5 lakh.
Advocate AP Singh, appearing for Mr Jain said that he does
not have any land and he should be asked to appear before the court once he
gets bail in other cases.
Mr Jain was granted bail in one case but there are two other
cases pending in Odisha. He was booked on the basis of an alleged WhatsApp
message which was circulated last year related to Puri Rath Yatra in the state
and three cases were registered against him, he said.
The bench said it cannot keep adjourning the matter and
authorities may be directed to recover the cost.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the
Centre, said that Mr Jain's application for further reduction of cost be
dismissed and authorities be directed to attach the properties of Mr Jain and
recover the cost as per law.
On July 9, the Supreme Court had said that it will not hear
any professional public interest litigants unless they deposit the fines
imposed on them by the court.
The Supreme Court was earlier informed that one of them,
Swami Om had expired during the first COVID wave last year while Mukesh Jain
has been in Balasore jail for the past one year.
The top court had told advocate A P Singh to ask Mr Jain to
pay the fine or on the next date of hearing the court will pass orders that he
cannot file any petition before the Supreme Court unless he pays the fine.
Mr Singh said that Jain has been released on bail from the
jail in Odisha and he would appear before the court during the next hearing.
On August 24, 2017, the Supreme Court had said, imposition of
exemplary cost on Om and Mr Jain was needed to send across a message to
similarly placed people to deter them from filing such pleas.
Swami Om and Mr Jain, have not alleged anything in their 2017
PIL against then CJI designate (Justice Dipak Misra) and had referred to the
constitutional scheme on the appointment of CJI and the Chief Justices of the
High Courts and said that the process of recommending the name of successor by
the incumbent CJI is against the spirit of Constitution.
The top court had then asked them to deposit the fine within
a period of one month and said that the amount should be sent to the Prime
Minister Relief Fund.
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