Public interest litigation cannot be invoked in criminal matters without proper standing; only aggrieved persons may approach the court.

MANMOHAN, ACJ : (ORAL)

1. Present public interest petition has been filed allegedly on behalf of the ‘People of India’ seeking grant of extraordinary interim bail to Respondent No.5 i.e. the Chief Minister of the NCT of Delhi, in all criminal cases which have been registered by the respondent nos. 2 to 4 and are pending inquiry and/or trial. The petitioner seeks extraordinary interim bail against his personal bond, whereby the Petitioner has undertaken that respondent no.5 will not influence the witnesses involved, or try to destroy the evidence or try to flee from justice.

2. The petitioner in the writ petition claims to have ‘veto power’, which is sufficient to give any concession to any accused, if arrested and/or confined in jail under judicial custody. It is also averred that the inquiry and/or trial of the criminal case(s) registered against the respondent no. 5 by the respondent nos. 2 to 3 will take a long time to conclude and no useful purpose will be served by keeping him behind the bars till conclusion of such inquiry/investigation, and thus prays for grant of extraordinary interim bail to respondent no.5, till the completion of respondent no. 5’s tenure and/or till the completion of criminal trials, whichever is earlier.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner states that on account of arrest of the respondent no. 5 and his subsequent confinement to judicial custody, working of the Government of NCT of Delhi and its Cabinet has come to a standstill and the administration is working like a ‘headless’ organization.

He enlists several responsibilities of respondent no. 5 in his capacity as the Chief Minister of the GNCTD including ability to take quick decisions and pass orders and directions for the effective management, control and administration of NCT of Delhi; inspection of various Government schools/ hospitals/ offices/ colonies of the State etc. on a daily basis; calling and/or holding regular meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers; meeting citizens of the State on daily basis; overseeing transfer and posting of Group 'A' officers in Delhi, etc. which have been hampered on account of his arrest.

4. Learned senior counsel for respondent no.5, who appears on advance notice, states that the present petition is an ‘ambush petition’. He states that respondent no.5 is taking steps to enforce and protect his legal rights in accordance with law.

He also points out that similar petitions have already been dismissed by this Court including the last one i.e. W.P.(C) No.5135/2024 with costs of Rs.50,000/-

5. However, learned counsel for the petitioner presses his writ petition.

6. This Court is of the view that the present writ petition is not maintainable as the respondent no. 5 is in judicial custody in pursuance to judicial orders, which have not been challenged in the present writ petition.

7. Further this Court is of the view that it is important to bear in mind the concept of equality enshrined in the Constitution of India and the basic tenant of rule of law: “Be you ever so high, the law is above you”. This is imperative to retain public confidence in the Constitution of India.

8. It is also relevant to reproduce paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 6, 11 and 20 of the present writ petition:-

• “2.That, the Petitioner has also used his name as “We, the People of India” in the title of the present matter, just because he is also representing all the remaining fellow citizens / residents / voters of the NCT of Delhi, who have the same thoughts and opinions in the matter involved, as the Petitioner have, but cannot approach and/or to come, due to the reasons mentioned in coming paragraphs, this Hon’ble High Court seeking the very same reliefs, as the Petitioner is seeking for.

3. That, the Petitioner is the main power source of “the Constitution of India” being the by-birth citizen of India. The Government of India (Respondent No. l) and it’s all departments including Directorate of Enforcement (Respondent No.2) and