An exterior view of the Bombay High Court. File
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday said that information gathered from social media cannot be part of the pleadings in a public interest litigation (PIL).
A division Bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor refused to hear the PIL filed by advocate Ajitsingh Ghorpade that claimed 1,500 to 2,000 people lose their lives in unsafe waterfalls and water bodies in Maharashtra annually.
When Advocate Ghorpade’s lawyer Manindra Pandey mentioned the statistics, the bench sought to know the provenance of the information. When Mr. Pandey explained that the statistics were sourced from newspaper and social media posts, the Court refused to hear the PIL, adding that such information could not be included in a plea.
The Bench noted that such petitions were a ‘sheer wastage’ of the Court’s time, and suggested the petitioner withdraw the PIL. The bench suggested that the petitioner file a more detailed and informed plea, to which the petitioner’s lawyer conceded.
Meanwhile, Advocate Somasekhar Sundaresan was on Tuesday sworn in as an additional judge of the Bombay High Court. Chief Justice Upadhyaya administered the oath to Sundaresan.