A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) brought against the theft of public funds was dismissed by the Patna High Court.
The fifth respondent is similarly described as a society registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860, and the petitioner claimed to be a public-spirited individual who intends to take up arms against that party.
The petitioner claims that the organisation has taken over cleaning duties in Jehanabad that were assigned to it by the Municipality, a local self-government organisation. The petitioner asserts that the original founders of the group are no longer in charge and that someone else has taken over, leading to the misappropriation of public funds.
The petitioner appears to be more concerned with the operation of the society than she is with being negatively impacted by the cleaning tasks that the Municipality has contracted out to the society, according to the division bench of Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Madhuresh Prasad. If the society is the target of a complaint, the petitioner must first exhaust all available options under the Societies Registration Act of 1860.
“We do not perceive any public interest in the aforementioned writ petition, which was merely filed to further the petitioner’s animosity towards the society and its members. We see no justification for using the extraordinary discretionary remedy provided for under Article 226 of the Indian Constitution.
Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Madhuresh Prasad’s division bench noted that the petitioner, Up-Pramukh, is elected to the Panchayat Samiti established in accordance with Section 34 of the Act. Section 43 of the Act further defines the Up-Pramukh’s authority, responsibilities, and obligations with respect to the Panchayat Samiti.
“The petitioner is not powerless to raise the issues through the democratic process in accordance with the Act if she believes that any financial irregularities are being done at the Block level and that she is an elected representative in the Panchayat Samiti.
The Bench finds no public interest about any weaker, less articulate, or marginalised individuals or groups that the petitioner is advocating through the current proceedings, for whom this writ petition is being filed.
Written By- Aditya Singh, College Name- Army Law College, Pune, Semester- 2nd Semester Student an intern under Legal Vidhya