"Issue being unnecessarily continued", Supreme Court imposes 7k costs in PIL on CJI's Maharashtra protocol lapse
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a PIL seeking to initiate a preliminary inquiry against the Maharashtra officials under the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, for protocol violation and misconduct during the visit of the Chief Justice of India1 on 18th May, 2025 with costs.
"Since the petitioner is a lawyer with seven years of practice, we are only awarding the cost quantified as Rs.7,000/-to be deposited with the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee", a bench of CJI Gavai and Justice AG Masih has ordered.
In a speech given in a function held on 18th May, 2025, the CJI had referred to a breach of protocol by the officers of the State of Maharashtra. "If the Chief Secretary of the state, DGP or Mumbai police commissioner does not want to come there, when the CJI, who is from Maharashtra, has arrived for the first time, it's up to them to think about whether it is right or not," CJI Gavai had said.
Clarifying the same, the Supreme Court's order from yesterday notes the CJI in his speech had specifically mentioned that these were small issues and that he was not concerned with the same. "He had categorically stated that it was for the Senior Officers of the State Government, i.e. the Chief Secretary, the Director General of Police and the Commissioner of Police to reflect as to whether their absence to receive the head of one of the organs of Democracy; the CJI, was visiting the State of Maharashtra for the first time after his elevation was correct or not?", the top Court has said.
Supreme Court's order adds that immediately after the said speech became viral, all the three officers rushed to the Chaitya Bhoomi, where the CJI had gone to pay respect to the memory of Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar and had thereafter accompanied the CJI to the airport and were present till the CJI had boarded the flight.
"All the three officers tendered their apology on the first opportunity and rectified the error committed by them. Not only this, all the aforementioned three officers and all other concerned tendered their apology, some of them did so publicly", the order adds.
The order also mentioned the press note where CJI had specifically expressed that the trivial issues should not be blown out of proportion and requested everyone to give a quietus to the issue.
Supreme Court has further said that the CJI was not concerned about the treatment given to him as an individual, but he was only concerned with the dignity of the office of the CJI as a head of one of the organs of the Democracy.
Calling the present Public Interest Litigation nothing else but a ‘Publicity Interest Litigation’ in order to gain cheap publicity, the top court strongly deprecated it and said, "We are of the considered view that nobody should make a mountain out of a molehill".
Speaking at a felicitation programme organised by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, Gavai had pointed to the absence of the state's Chief Secretary, Director General of Police or the city police commissioner to receive him. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar also echoed the remarks made by Chief Justice of India on protocol, stating that adherence to protocol is "fundamental" and must be respected across institutions.
Case Title: SHAILENDRA MANI TRIPATHI vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS