A three-judge bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli said that PILs being a summary jurisdiction, courts have limited powers to examine the bonafides of parties.
But courts should take a prima facie view on the bonafides of the party based on pleadings, the Bench said.
“One of the measures this Court can adopt to ensure that frivolous or private interests are not masqueraded as genuine claims, is to be cautious when examining locus standi…..If the Court concludes that the litigation was initiated under the shadow of reasonable suspicion, then the Court may decline to entertain the claims on merits,” the judgment said.
The Court further noted that PIL is not a new concept and although the jurisprudence in this regard has matured, many claims filed in the courts are sometimes immature.”
“Thousands of frivolous petitions are filed, burdening the docket of both this Court and the High Courts,” the Bench observed.
Source: Barandbench
