SC imposed a 5K cost over a petition seeking a declaration of Part III of the Constitution as null and void.

Case: Human Duties Foundation vs Union of India and anr

Bench: Justices KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy

An occurrence in courtroom 5 of the Apex Court on Monday epitomized the depths to which public interest litigation has plunged and is misused.

Using Article 32 of the Constitution, a petitioner moved the Court for a declaration that Part III of the Constitution (of which Article 32 is a part), which lays down fundamental rights, should be declared null and void.

The petitioner, an organization named Human Duties Foundation, requested to issue a writ declaring part 3 of the constitution of India ultra-vires and void-ab-initio, contradictory to the right spirit of the constitution's preamble and against the law of nature.

The bench could not hide its disappointment at the irony that the petition seeking a declaration of the void of the fundamental right was filed under the fundamental rights enshrined in Part III of the Constitution.

The bench said that it appears that the petitioner filed this writ petition completely misguided. In light of this, the bench was inclined to allow the petitioner to withdraw the writ petition, although not unconditionally. 

The bench directed the petitioner to deposit ₹5,000 with the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee within a month.