PIL seeking deoccupation of schools from Security Forces mere a publicity stunt, says Court

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Thursday dismissed the Public Interest Litigation seeking the vacation of security forces from educational institutions in Kashmir stating that the petition styled as Public Interest Litigation has been filed without any empirical research and in a totally casual manner.  “As a result averments have been made, which have no authenticity; without any supportive documentary evidence. In fact averments are based on false and incorrect assumption. Obviously, the only legal inference that could be raised by the Court is that the PIL has been filed not for public interest, but to gain cheap publicity which constitutes an oblique motive. The statements made in these petitions are based on newspaper cutting. Before coming to the Court through the PIL, the petitioner has not even bothered to verify the newspaper reports from any reliable source. No doubt a mere letter/news item can be treated as a PIL but it does not arm the petitioner with a right to approach the court without placing authentic information before the Court(s).” 

A division bench of Justice RamalingamSudhakar and Justice Ali Muhammad Magrey while reacting on the PIL filed by Advocate Shah Faisal said that the Public Interest Litigation jurisdiction does not give right to come to the Court with bald statements unsupported by material particulars and documents.

The educational institutes that the petitioner had pleaded are under occupation of forces include:  Government Higher Secondary School Rajbagh, Government Higher Secondary school Sonwar, DAV School Jawahar Nagar, M.P Higher Secondary School Bagh-e-Dilawar Khan Srinagar and  girls institutes like NawaKadal Higher Secondary School and Government Higher Secondary School KothiBagh.

While the petitioner had sought directions to the state government through its chief secretary as well as Commissioner Secretary Home Department for vacating forces personnel from these educational institutions the court maintained that Ajaz Ahmad Bhat, Director, School Education, Kashmir has stated that no such school as made mention of in the PIL or for that matter any other school in the Kashmir Valley, is under occupation of the security forces. “In such circumstances, the statement made by petitioner in the PIL is false and incorrect, the element of professed public interest is lost and it is only for publicity interest.” (CNS)