DORAISWAMY RAJU, ARIJIT PASAYAT
Ashok Kumar Pandey – Appellant
Versus
State Of W. B. – Respondent
The legal document emphasizes that a third-party stranger does not have the locus standi to question the correctness of a conviction or sentence in a petition styled as public interest litigation. Such petitions, if found to be a camouflage for personal disputes, private malice, or publicity-seeking, should be dismissed. The court highlights the necessity for genuine public interest involvement, cautioning against misuse of the PIL mechanism for personal gains, political motives, or oblique considerations (!) (!) (!) (!) .
Furthermore, the document clarifies that Article 32 of the Constitution guarantees the right to approach the court for the enforcement of fundamental rights, but this right is primarily reserved for the affected or aggrieved party. A third party, especially one who is not acting on behalf of a person with a legal disability such as a minor or insane individual, cannot invoke this right to challenge decisions or convictions of others (!) (!) (!) .
It also states that courts must exercise caution to prevent abuse of the judicial process by busybodies or meddlesome interlopers who lack a direct interest or concern in the matter. Such individuals should be rejected at the threshold, and petitions filed with oblique motives or for personal or political reasons should be dismissed, sometimes with costs, to uphold the integrity of judicial proceedings (!) (!) (!) .
In summary, the legal principles underscore that PIL is a tool to address genuine public wrongs and not a means for personal, political, or private interests. Only individuals with a bona fide interest and sufficient concern are entitled to approach the court, and the court must remain vigilant to prevent its process from being misused by those with ulterior motives.
JUDGMENT
Arijit Pasayat, J.-This petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, 1950 (in short the Constitution ) has been filed purportedly in public interest. The prayer in the writ petition is to the effect that the death sentence imposed on one Dhananjay Chatterjee @ Dhana (hereinafter referred to as the accused ) by the Sessions Court, Alipur, West Bengal, affirmed by the Calcutta High Court and this Court, needs to be converted to a life sentence because there has been no execution of the death sentence for a long time. Reliance was placed on a Constitution Bench decision of this Court in Smt. Triveniben vs. State of Gujarat, (1989 (1) SCC 678).
2. According to the petitioner, he saw a news item in a TV channel wherein it was shown that the authorities were unaware about the non-execution of the death sentence and, therefore, condemned prisoner, the accused has suffered a great degree of mental torture and that itself is a ground for conversion of his death sentence to a life sentence on the basis of ratio in Triveniben s case (supra). It needs to be noted here that prayer for conversion of death sentence to life sentence has already been turned down by the Governor
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