Supreme Court
Supreme Court rebukes lawyer over plea; says time to stop bogus PILs
New Delhi/IBNS: The Supreme Court has said that lawyers should be stopped from filing "bogus PILs (Public Interest Litigation) while upbraiding a lawyer for filing a "Publicity Interest Litigation" seeking compensation for families of those lawyers who died before the age of 60, whether by Covid or any other disease, according to media reports.
In the PIL, lawyer and petitioner Pradeep Kumar Yadav contended that the government has been providing financial assistance to other communities in the society amid the pandemic and sought 50 lakhs for the families of such lawyers, reported NDTV.
Slamming the lawyer, the top court judge dismissed the petition. Supreme Court Justice DY Chandrachud reminded the lawyer that his case cannot be treated as an exception just because he is in a "black coat".
"Time has come that we have to stop the lawyers from filing these bogus PILs. This is a Publicity Interest Litigation and just because you are in black coat, doesn't mean your life is more precious than others!" the top court said, according to the report.
"It cannot happen that lawyers file such public interest litigations and demand for compensation from judges and that they will allow. You know there are a lot of people who died. You can't be an exception here, Mr Yadav," Justice Chandrachud-led bench added.
Yadav had argued that the lawyers were facing an acute financial crisis as all courts were not working. Their survival is in peril and consequently their staff, who depend on them, are also in deep financial distress.
In this situation, many lawyers are gravitating to other professions, he said.
Delhi High Court and district courts have resumed physical hearing with some restrictions from late August while the Supreme Court has switched to hybrid hearings - both physical and virtual - from September 1.
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