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Initially, the litigant had moved the High Court seeking a direction for constituting a special bench which consisted of judges neither belonging to OBC nor to unreserved category, contending that the matter to be considered was filed by persons in the OBC category or by unreserved category.
The Supreme Court of India on Monday (July 17) imposed heavy costs on INR 50,000 on a litigant who had approached it seeking a direction to constitute a special 'neutral' bench without judges from upper-caste and other backward classes (OBCs), to hear a reservation case pending before the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
Instant SLP was filed against the High Court's order refusing to allow an application which sought the same direction.
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Pankaj Mithal opined that the only thing wrong with the High Court's order was that heavy cots were not imposed on the litigant.
"The only infirmity that we find with the impugned order of the High Court is that heavy cost was not imposed on the litigant who filed a mischievous I.A. No.1873/2023 seeking constitution of a bench as he wanted, to the writ petition", the top court observed.
Accordingly, the bench went on to dismiss the "mis-conceived Special Leave Petition" while imposing costs of Rs.50,000/- on the petitioner.
The cost amount be deposited with the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee within one month from today, further ordered the bench.
Notably, the High Court had refused to allow the present litigants request observing that a Judge is not supposed to recuse merely for the asking of a litigant or lawyer.
Case Title: LOKENDRA GURJAR vs. THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH & ORS.
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