Frivolous plea: Karnataka HC slaps Rs 5 lakh fine

BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court imposed Rs 5 lakh cost on advocate P Mohan Chandra from Panjigar House in Sullia taluk, for wasting public time by filing a frivolous appeal against a single-judge order on the appointment of the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioner.

Observing that it is axiomatic that the appellant has not approached court with clean hands and is guilty of suppression of material facts, a division bench of Justice B Veerappa and Justice KS Hemalekha dismissed the appeal filed by Mohan Chandra and directed him to deposit the cost with the Advocates’ Association of Bangalore. Mohan Chandra disclosed that he is a practicing advocate while dictating the judgment, the bench added.

An appeal was filed by Mohan Chandra, an aspirant for the post of Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioner, pursuant to the state government notification dated August 7, 2018, challenging the order dated April 21, 2022, passed by the single judge dismissing the petition filed by him against the appointment of respondents -- NC Srinivas as Chief Information Commissioner, SM Somashekara and KP Manjunatha as State Information Commissioners.

The division bench said the respondents have been selected by the Selection Committee taking into consideration their eminence in public life. In the absence of any better qualification possessed by the appellant, he cannot contend that the selection of respondents is bad. The appellant is unnecessarily harassing the respondents who have been appointed legally, in terms of provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005, the division bench added.  

“...in recent years there has emerged a trend of filing speculative litigations before various courts, not just in the court of first instance, but also in High Court as well as before Supreme Court. It is the duty of the courts to ensure that such litigations be weeded out at the first instance...,” said the division bench.