BHC Questions Motive Of PIL Against Eknath Shinde’s 2022 Dussehra Rally

The Bombay High Court has recently expressed strong criticism towards a Public Interest Litigation petitioner who raised concerns about last year’s Dussehra rally organized by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at the Bandra Kurla Complex.

The bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor remarked, “This is a politically motivated PIL. Your source of information is a political party? The source of information is the utterances of a political leader. Are you seriously committed to pursuing this petition?”

The bench asked the lawyer representing petitioner that, “What is the source of the information you have presented in this PIL?”

The lawyer responded, “Media and newspapers.” To this, the bench retorted, “You are a lawyer. Approach your profession with seriousness. Don’t stray from the point. PILs should be treated with the utmost seriousness. Without thorough preparation, there should be no PIL. You can’t file a PIL based on something you read in the morning.”

Furthermore, Chief Justice Upadhyaya advised the lawyer, “Devote yourself to your career as a lawyer with dedication. Don’t waste your energy. You’ve recently received your license. Focus on your profession.”

The petition had been filed by advocate Nitin Satpute, who was not present during the court session. Therefore, the representative before the bench requested additional time. The bench has now scheduled to revisit the PIL on August 17.

The PIL aimed to instigate an inquiry into the expenses associated with the Dussehra rally organized by Shinde and his party members. Held on October 5 at Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex, the rally purportedly attracted a crowd of almost 200,000 from various parts of the state. The petition urged for an investigation by entities such as the CBI, ED, or the economic offense wing of the Mumbai Police. The plea was initiated by a social worker from Kandivali East, Mumbai, through advocate Satpute.

The plea alleged that the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, a state-run entity, deployed 1,700 buses to facilitate transportation for the political event.

Additionally, it asserted that Shinde disbursed around Rs 10 crore, or possibly more, to the state transport department for these services, along with compensating those responsible for other provisions during the rally.