[Vikas Dubey Encounter] Allahabad High Court dismisses PIL seeking direction to State govt to take action on SIT report; imposes Rs 25,000 costs

The Allahabad High Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition which sought directions to the State government to take action on the Special Investigation Team (SIT) report in the case relating to alleged encounter killing of gangster Vikas Dubey (Saurabh Bhadauria v. State of UP). .The Court also imposed costs of Rs. 25,000 on the petitioner, advocate Saurabh Bhadauria, stating that the plea was an attempt by the petitioner to "have his personal grievance redressed through a mode of public interest litigation.".A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Yadav and Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi said that PIL cannot be used as a tool to settle personal grudges. "Evidently the petition is nomenclatured as Public Interest Litigation. However, on going through entire pleadings it appears that the petitioner has approached this Court to have his personal grievance redressed through a mode of public interest litigation. Personal grudge has to be settled in accordance with law before appropriate forum and not through a litigation depicting to be a public interest," the Court said. .On July 11, 2020 an SIT was formed by the Uttar Pradesh government to probe into the alleged encounter killing of Dubey. It consisted of Sanjay Bhoosreddy (IAS officer), Hari Ram Sharma (Additional Director General of Police) and J Ravinder Goud (Deputy Inspector General of Police).The SIT submitted its report on November 4, 2020. It was reported that the three-member SIT, had recommended action against 90 officials from the police, Rural Development, Food and Revenue Departments for their alleged involvement in helping the gangster build his empire. .Bhadauria, who is a resident of Kanpur, had then approached the Court by way of a PIL seeking directions to the State government to act on the report. Bhaduria sought the following reliefs from the court:To direct the concerned respondents to take cognizance of the various findings/recommendations of the Joint Report dated 29/08/2017 presented by the Additional City Magistrate, Kanpur Nagar and Circle Officer, Najirabad, Kanpur Nagar and to take all appropriate legal and administrative actions as per these findings/recommendations. To direct the concerned respondents to take cognizance of the various findings/recommendations of the Report dated 21/03/2018 presented by Sri K C Goswami, then Additional Superintendent of Police, Kannauj and to take all appropriate legal and administrative actions as per the above-mentioned findings/recommendations. To summon a copy of the finding and recommendations of the 03 member Special Investigation Team with Sri Sanjay Bhoosreddy, IAS as its Chairman, constituted by the State Government on 11/07/2020 as regards the Bikru case in Chaubepur Thana, Kanpur Nagar on 03/07/2020 and thereafter kindly issue a Writ in the nature of Mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction directing the concerned respondents to take cognizance of the various findings/recommendation of this Report of Sanjay Bhoosreddy Special Investigation Team and to take all appropriate legal and administrative actions as per the above-mentioned findings/recommendations.."We are not inclined to cause any indulgence in the matter. As the present petition is not a genuine public interest litigation, therefore it is dismissed with cost of Rs.25,000," the Court said while dismissing the plea. .Earlier, in August, 2020, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea filed by Advocate Ghanshyam Upadhyay seeking to disband the 3-member inquiry commission headed by Justice (retd.) BS Chauhan, which was formed to investigate the extrajudicial killing of gangster Vikas Dubey by the Uttar Pradesh Police..Advocates Nutan Thakur and Deepak Kumar represented the petitioner and Additional Advocate General, VK Shahi appeared for the state..[Read Order]