GIANT DEVENDAR SINGH SANT SEPOY SINGH  

v.  

UNION OF INDIA AND ANOTHER  

JANUARY 4, 1995  

[P.B. SAWANT AND G.N. RAY, JJ.]  

Public Interest LitigatioTt-(]eneral and wide allegations about conuJr  tion and clandestine activities-Petitioner inter alia alleging smuggling of nar- cotic drugs by owners of a certain oil mi~igh Court order making general  

A  

B  

and sweeping observations-Held, High Court should not have issued man- C  date in general and sweeping tenns. which were not intended to be implemented  nor capable of being implemented because of its vagueness and inherent ab- surdity-DGP of State, however, required to enquire into truth of allegations  of smuggling and illegal activities in oil mill.  

Judiciary-Sweeping a/legations against members of Judiciary-Held, D  while such allegations are to be deprecated, given the utter confusion and  obsession of petitioner, no serious view of such allegations made against  members of judiciary taken-f'leadings-PIL.  

A PIL filed in the MP High Court alleged inter alia that clandestine E  business of smuggling and selling narcotic drugs was being carried on in  an oil mill near the Gurudwara where the petitioner and bis wife were  Sevadars. It was prayed that a direction be issued to whomsoever it may  concern to stop this clandestine business of smuggllng, and to direct the  Union Government to make arrangements for the export of these costly  items in order to conserve foreign exchange so that the country's finances F  may be revived. The High Court, on 27 February 1992, observed that how·  ever absurd the prayer and whatever be the intention of the petitioner in  filing the petition, it was clear that the petitioner was obsessed with great  and lofty ideals. To satisfy bis vanity, therefore, the High Court made  certain general directions to prevent smuggling, to sack tliose officers who G  were carrying on these activities and to overhaul the entire administrative  machinery of the country.  

In 1993, the petitioner approached the High Court complaining that  the concerned authorities bad not complied with the direction of the High  Court. Complaints made by the petitioner to various authorities was H  

27

28 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1995] 1 S.C.R.  

A referred to. A Division Bench held that the direction contained in the order  dated 27 February 1992 was of a general nature, and in view of the general  allegations against all concerned made by the petitioner, no relief could be  granted.  

B  

c  

In appeal before this Court, the petitioner referred to his complaints  before various executive and judicial authorities, and in particular alleged  that a named judge was dishonest, communal and corrupt and that the  judicial officers before whom the complaints had been presented, failed to  take action because of patronage of that judge. There was also a prayer for  a direction for implementation of Hindi as a national language.  

Dismissing the petition, this Court  

HELD : 1. When the High Court was of the view that the prayer made  by the petitioner was absurd, it shonld not have made a direction in general  and sweeping terms. If the High Court intends to pass an order on an  

D application presented before it by treating it as public interest litigation,  the High Court must precisely indicate the allegations or the statements  contained in such petition relating to public interest litigation and should  indicate bow public interest was involved and only after ascertaining the  correctness of the allegation, should give specific direction as may seem  jnst and proper in the facts of the case. It appears that the High Court  

E disposed of the petition in a lighter vein and its order is couched in veiled  sarcasm. Such course of action is not desirable and the High Court should  not have issued mandate in general and sweeping terms which were not  intended to be implemented and were not capable of being implemented  because of utter vagueness of the mandate and of its inherent absurdity.  

F [34-F-H, 35-A-B)  

2. The petition presented before this Conrt lacks in material par- ticulars and it is also very difficult to discern precisely the allegations  songht to be made. Reference to various cases made in different courts have  been made without giving relevant particulars. It is therefore not possible  

G to appreciate whether such complaints were maintainable or not and  whether on not orders passed on the complaints were justified. [35-F)  

3. The sweeping allegations against a judge and other judicial officers  need to be deprecated in no uncertain terms. But it appears that the  petitioner is a confused person obsessed with lofty ideals and perhaps bas  

H failed to appreciate the consequence of making wild allegations against

G.D. SINGH SANTS. SINGH v. U.0.1. [G.N. RAY, J.] 29  

judicial officers. No serious note need, therefore, be taken of such allega- A  lions. [35-G-H]  

4. The petitioner has been crying hoarse about smuggling and illegal  activities relating to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances in the  premises of an oil mill. It is desirable that the DGP, Madhya Pradesh,  should cause enquiry to be made by some superior officials into the B  allegations, and take appropriate action on the basis of the report.  

[37-C-D]  

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Special Leave Peti- tion (Crl.) Nos. 1208-09 of 1994.  

From the Judgment and Order dated 8.12.93 of the Madhya Pradesh  

High Court in M.P. No. 63 of 1993.  

Petitioner In-person.  

The Judgment of t!ie Court was delivered by  

c  

D  

G.N. RAY, J. These special leave petitions are directed against the  judgment and order dated December 8, 1993 passed by • Division Bench  of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh (Indore Bench) in Misc. Petition  No. 63 of 1993. The Division Bench by the said order dismissed the petition  of the petitioner made before the Madhya Pradesh High Court (Indore E  Bench) inter alia contending that the respondents failed to comply with the  direction contained in the order dated February 27, 1992 passed in Misc.  Petition No. 266 of 1992 by a Division Bench of the Indore Bench of the  Madhya Pradesh High Court. As the direction dated 27 2.92 was passed by  a Division Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court consisting of the F  Chief Justice of the said High Court and Mr. Justice V.S. Kokje, a single  Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court before whom the petition  alleging non-compliance of the direction of the High Court was placed for  disposal, directed to place the matter before the Hon'ble the Chief Justice  at Jabalpur so that the Chief Justice would constitute an appropriate bench  for the disposal of the said application. The learned Single Judge, namely, G  Mr. Justice V.S. Kokje called for the records of the cases mentioned in the  application of the petitioner from the Comt of the learned Sessions Judge,  Mandsaur. It was directed that the learned Sessions Judge, Maodsaur,  should transmit the records of the cases filed by the petitioner in various  courts under the judgship of the learned Sessions Judge and transmit the H

30 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1995] 1 S.C.R.  

A same to the High Court. The said application was numbered before the  Division Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court as Misc. Petition No.  63 of 1993 and as aforesaid by the impugned order the said Misc. petition  was dismissed by the Division Bench consisting of Mr. Justice V.S. Kokje  and Mr. Justice R.D .. Shukla. It may be stated here that one of the members  

B  of the Division Bench, namely, the then Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh  High Court which disposed of Misc. Petition No. 266 of 1992 on 27.2.92  retired when the ·said Misc. Petition No. 63 of 1993 was taken up for  hearing by the Division Bench constituted for the purpose.  

It appears from the Order dated 27.2.92 passed by the Division  C Bench consisting of the then Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court,  

Justice S.K. Jha and Justice V.S. Kokje in Misc. Petition No. 266 of 1992  that a public interest litigation was filed by the petitioner and he was heard  in person. The Division Bench in the order dated 27.2.92 has noted to the  following effect :  

D  

E  

F  

G  

H  

"Petitioner in person. He is heard. This is supposed to be a piece  of public interest litigation. As to whether it is a piece of litigation  or not, is not easy for us to discern. Be that as it may, as we have  been able to understand, the petitioner Shri Sardar Gyani  Devendra Singhji, Sant Sipahi, feels very much aggrieved and  pained by the entire social order and the clandestine activities by  all and sundry in the country affecting not only the country's  finances, but eating up the nerves of the entire nation in all spheres.  According to the petitioner, he and his wife are Sevadars in a  Gurudwara situate at Ratangarh in the district of Mandsaur. His  grievance is that there is an oil mill near the Gurudwara in which,  for all outward purposes, edible oils are manufactured, but people  there are engaged more in clandestine business of smuggling and  selling opium, heroin, brown sugar, poppy husk and the like and  the authorities are not taking any care to see that such activities  are stopped. Rather they are said to be hands in glove with the oil  mill owners. It is, therefore, prayed that a direction be issued to  whomsoever it may concern, to stop this clandestine business and  smuggling and instead, to direct the Union Government to make  arrangements for export of these costly items in order to conserve  foreign exchange so that the country's finances which are more or  less in a shattered state, may, to a great extent, be revived.

G.D.SINGHSANTS.SINGHv. U.0.1.[G.N.RAY,J.] 31  

Howsoever absurd the prayer may be aud whatever be the A  intention of the petitioner in filing this petition, one thing is quite  clear that he is obsessed with great aud lofty ideals. Therefore, for  whatever worth it is, in order to satisfy his vanity, we hereby direct  

B  

to whomsoever it may concern, that smuggling and underground  dealings in such dangerous articles as mentioned above, should be  stopped aud the sooner the better for the country. All those  officers who are said or alleged to be (more imaginary thau real)  with those carrying on these nefarious activities be sacked and the  entire administrative machinery of the country be overhauled by  recruiting only conscientious and devoted people like the  petitioner so that the already suffering masses of the nation 'are no C  longer made to suffer."  

In the petition numbered as Misc. Petition No. 63 of 1993 in which  the impugned decision has been made, the petitioner complained before  the Madhya Pradesh High Court that neither the concerned authorities of D  the Central Government nor of the State Government complied with the  direction contained in the said order dated 27.2.92 passed in Misc. Petition  No. 266 of 1992. The petitioner alleged that the direction of the Division  Bench contained in the said order dated 27.2.92 was published in the  newspaper. The petitioner also alleged that he drew attention of the  concerned authorities to •uch order aud also about inaction on their part E  in not taking appropriate steps to stop nefarious activities including  clandestine business of smuggling aud selling of opium, heroin, brown  sugar, poppy husk aud the like in the premises of au oil mill situated in the  district of Mandsaur. The petitioner complained that the concerned  authorities failed to take auy step to prevent such activities. On the contrary F  they worked baud in glove with the owners of the oil mill. The petitioner  prayed that a direction should be issued to whomsoever it may concern to  stop such clandestine business of smuggling activities and the Union  Government be directed to make arrangements for export of those costly  items in order to earn foreign exchange so that country's finances which  were more or less in a shattered state would be to a great extent revived. G  

In disposing of the said petition alleging non-compliauce of the  aforesaid direction dated 27 .2.92 passed by the Division Bench of the  Madhya Pradesh High Court in Misc. Petition No. 266 of 1992, it has been  held in the impugned order dated December 8, 1993 that the petitioner has H

32 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1995] 1 S.C.R.  

A given some instances which according to the petitioner were not followed  though the notice of the concerned officer and also of the judicial officers  was brought to the said facts. The Division Bench has held that the  direction contained in the order dated 27.2.92 was of a general nature, and  in view of the general allegations against all concerned made by the  

B  petitioner, no relief can be given to the petitioner and the petition deserves  to be dismissed.  

It has been alleged in the instant special leave petitions that the  petitioner made a complaint on January 3, 1992 in the Court of Additional  District Judge and also before the District Judge, Mandsaur, on January  

C 18, 1992. Such complaints were again presented to the said judges on  January 29, 1992 and on February 27, 1992. As no appropriate action had  been taken by the Additional District judge and the District Judge,  Mandsaur, the petitioner presented the application before the Indore  Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court containing the said complaints  

D after suitably modifying the same' and on such application the said order  dated 27.2.92 was passed.  

The petitioner has alleged that after getting a copy of the said order  dated 27.2.92 passed by the Division Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High  Court, twenty five photostat copies of the said order were made and the  

E same were sent to Press Club. Indore, for circulation and necessary action  by the concerned authorities. According to the petitioner, wide circulation  to the order was given. On February 28, 1992, in Free Journal of Indore  the order was published. As no concerned authority gave attention to the  said order, the petitioner sent the copies of the said order to Sri Dhamsana,  

F the Superintendent of Police, Indore, Shri Narender Pal Singh. Collector  of Mandsaur, Shri Ram Niwas, S.P., Mandsaur. A photo copy of the order  was also sent to Shri Amitabh Jain. Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Neemuch.  Such orders were circulated to the said authorities in order to enable them  to take appropriate action against Shri Ghan Syam Lal and other owners  of the Oil Mill at Mandsaur and to take appropriate action against  

G nefarious activities, namely, dealing in heroine opium, brown sugar, smack  etc. indulged by the owners of the said mill and other anti social elements.  The petitioner has alleged that the complaints made by the petitioner  before the Additional District Judge, !st Court and also before the Addi- tional District Judge, !Ind Court Mandsaur, were dismissed although in  

H such complaint petitions besides the allegations about nefarious and illegal

G.D. SINGH SANT S. SINGH v. U.0.1. [G.N. RAY. J.] 33  

activities being conducted by the said Oil Mill Owners, a copy of the order A  dated 27.2.92 of the High Court was annexed. The petitioner alleges that  he also filed petition of complaint before the Additional Chief Judicial  Magistrate and the District Judge, Mandsaur and also in the Court of Shri  Roop Singh, Alawa but all such applications were dismissed. The petitioner  also presented application in the Court of Sri G.B. Ail Jatwal and Shri J.P.  Singh, Solanki, Judicial Magistrate, Jawak, out the said Judicial Officers  also did not take any action and the complaint petitions were deposited in  

B  

the record room. The complaints were also made against the Chief Ad- ministrator of the Municipal Corporation, Ratangarh because the said  Administrator failed to take appropriate action in preventing public  nuisance committed within the said Oil Mill. The petitioner alleged that C  the Sevadars of Gurudwara, Ratangarh and owners of Hanuman Small  Industries (Oil Mill) have indulged and allowed commission of these illegal  and smuggling activities concerning narcotic and psychotrophic drugs. The  petitioner has alleged that although it was incumbent on the part of the  Sub-Divisional Magistrate to take appropriate action on the basis of the D  complaint made by the petitioner, more so, when the said order dated  27.2.92 of the High Court was annexed with the petition of the complaint,  the learned Magistrate dismissed the said application on March 11, 1992.  It has been alleged by giving the name of a judge of the High Court that  the said Judge being dishonest, communal and corrupt, the Judicial Of- ficers before whom the complaints were presented, failed and neglected to  take action because of patronage of the High Court Judge. The petitioner  has alleged that all the Judicial officer before whom the petitions of  complaint had been presented disposed of such applications without pass- ing any effective and appropriate order. Hence, such judicial officers are  liable to be prosecuted, and their action amounted to defaming the  petitioner. It has also been alleged that if no action is taken against such  illegal and nefarious activities concerning the narcotic and psychotrophic  drugs, the national exchequor will be loosing every day about Rs. 500 crores  and smugglers and anti social elements will flourish.  

E  

F  

A prayer has also been made that instruction should be issued for G  implementation of Hindi as national language of India because the direc- tion for making Hindi as national language should have been made at least  twenty eight years ago. The petitioner has also made a prayer that he  should be compensated for the loss suffered by him from March 1, 1992  and the nation should also be compensated for the loss suffered by the H

34 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1995] 1 S.C.R.  

A nation and such compensation should come out of the pockets of such  persons who did not care to take any action on the complaints made by  the petitioner and comply with the order passed by the High Court on  27.2.92.  

B  So far as the direction contained in the said order dated 27.2.92 is  

concerned, it appears to us that such direction was made by making some  general and sweeping observations on the basis of allegations made by the  petitioner. It also appears that the High Court in disposing of Misc.  Petition No. 266 of 1992 by its order dated 27.2.92 has clearly noted that  it was not easy to discern precisely what the petitioner intended to allege  

C in the petition presented before the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh  High Court. The High Court as a matter of fact, observed that "howsoever  absurd the prayer may be and whatever may be the intention of the petitioner  in filing the alleged public interest litigation, one thing is clear that he is  obsessed with. great and lofty ideals and therefore for whatever worth it is,  in order to satisfy his vanity, we direct to whomsoever it may concern, the  

D sh!uggling and undergound activities in such dangerous articles should be  stooped and sooner the better for the country."  

In also appears from the order dated 27.2.92 that the High Court  noted that the Officers who were alleged to have been carrying on  

E nefarious activities were more imaginary than real but it was directed that  the officers who were carrying on such activities should be sacked and the  entire administration of the country should be overhauled by recruiting only  conscientious and devoted people like the petitioner.  

F It appears to us that when the High Court was not in a position to  precisely discern what was the complaint alleged by the petitioner and  when the High Court was of the view that the prayer made by the petitioner  was absurd and it also held that the officers who were alleged to have been  carrying on nefarious activities were more imaginary than real, the direc- tion in general and sweeping terms to sack erring officers (whomsoever  

G they may be) and overhaul the administration by recruiting only conscien- tious and devoted people like the petitioner in order to satisfy the vanity  of the petitioner, should not have been made. If the High Court intends to  pass in order on an application presented before it by treating it as a  public interest litigation, the High Court must precisely indicate the allega-

H tions or the statements contained in such petition relating to public interest

G.D. SINGH SANT S. SINGH v. U.0.1. [G.N. RAY, J.] 35  

litigation and should indicated how public interest was involved and only A  after ascertaining the correctness of the allegation, should give specific  

directioin as may deem just and proper in the facts of the case.  

It appears to us that the application was disposed of by the Division  Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court in a lighter vein and the order dated  27.2.92 is couched with veiled sapcasm. Such course of action, to say the B  least, is not desirable and the High Court should not have issued mandate  in general and sweeping terms which were not intended to be implemented  and were not capable of being implemented because of utter vagueness of  

the mandate and of its inherent absurdity.  

It appears to us when the petitioner alleged non-compliance of the  direction of the High Court as contained in the said order dated 27.2.92,  the Division Bench of which Mr. Justice V.S. Kokje was one of the  

members, which passed the order dated 27 .2.92, felt that the said order was  

c  

not capable of being implemented and therefore dismissed the application D  by passing the impugned order. It is only unfortunate that the petitioner,  a layman, appeared in person and when his petition was entertained by the  Division Bench having the then Chief Justice of High Court as a member,  and was disposed of by giving some direction, he must have hoped that his  efforts to eradicate nefarious activities as alleged by him, have been  crowned with success and it appears that "he moved various authorities E  zealously to implement the mandate of the High Court without appreciat- ing that such mandate was of no consequence and prayer for implementa- tion is to be dismissed unceremoniously at a later stage.  

However, we have considered the present petition moved by the F  petitioner in person. It appears to us that the petition which has been  presented before this Court lacks in material paritculars and it is also very  difficult to discern precisely the allegations sought to be made in the said  application. The petitioner has also made a wide and sweeping allegation  against a Judge of the High Court without giving any instance how and in  what marmer the said Judge has influenced the other judicial officers of G  the State. Such sweeping allegations against a Judge and other judicial  officers need to be deprecated in no uncertain terms. But it appears to us  that the petitioner is a confused person obsessed with various lofty ideals  and perhaps has failed to appreciate the consequence of making wild  allegations against judicial officers. Even in this application, the petitioner H

36 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1995] 1 S.C.R.  

A has alleged that this Court should pass direction for making Hindi as a  national language because such direction should have been given twenty  eight years ago. He has also contended that he should be compensated for  the loss alleged to have been suffered by him from March I, 1992 without  indicating how and in what manner he has suffered losses, He has also  

B  

c  

alleged that the nation should also be compensated for the loss suffered by  the nation from the pockets of the concerned person who did not care to  take action against illegal and improper activities by the Mill Owners and  some other persons. Such statements, to say the least reveal utter confusion  and obsessions of the petitioner. We are, therefore, not inclined to take  any serious view of the wild allegations made against some of the members  of the judiciary.  

We may indicate here that, as a matter of fact, when these matters  were taken up for hearing before another Bench of this Court on August  12, 1994 the said Bench, with respect, rightly could not appreciate the  

D precise relief which the petitioner was seeking and as the petitioner was  appearing in person and was making reference about various cases filed in  different courts without giving relevant particulars of such cases and orders  passed in such cases. Hence, the Bench in its order dated August 12, 1994  indicated that it was not possible for the Court to understand what were  those cases and against whom the same had been filed because the copies  

E of those orders were not available on the record. By the said order dated  August 12, 1994 it was directed that the Secretary, Supreme Court Legal  Aid Committee, would render assistance to the Petitioner to project his  grievance and assist the Court and the petitioner was directed to approach  the Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee for the purpose. It appears that  

p in view of the direction, a counsel of this Court was engaged by the  Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee but for the reasons best known to  the petitioner, the petitioner chose to address the Court in person and in  his submission he made general and sweeping remarks about the increase  in corruption and malpractices gripping the country, seriously affecting the  progress of the nation. He also alleged that various smuggling and  

G nefarious activities relating to narcotic and psychotrophic drugs were being  committed by the owners of a Oil Mill situated in the District of Mandsaur  and various complaints made by him in different law courts were simply  dismissed. In the absence of the copies of complaints alleged to have been  presented in various courts of law and orders passed on such complaints,  

H it is not possible to appreciate whether such complaints were maintainable

G.D. SINGH SANT S. SINGH v. U.0.1.[G.N. RAY, J.] 37  

or not and whether or not orders passed on such complaints were justified. A  That apart, if an order is passed by a court, a party aggrieved may move  against such order in a manner known to law and within the framework of  law. As the impugned order of the High Court dated December 8, 1993  passed in Misc. Petition No. 63 of 1993 does not call for any interference  and as these petitions do not merit any further consideration, we dismiss B  the same without any order as to costs.  

It, however, appears that the petitioner, an old man and a Sewadar  of a Gurudwara has been crying hoarse that in the premises of an oil mill  near the Gurudwara at Ratangarh in Madhya Pradesh various smuggling  and illegal activities relating to narcotic and psychotrophic drugs are being C  carried on. Even if the petitioner has not been able to precisely give  particulars of such illegal activities concerning narcotic and psychotrophic  drugs, we feel that it is only desirable that the Director General of Police,  Madhya Pradesh should cause enquiry to be made by some superior police  officials of the State about the truth or otherwise about the allegations of  smuggling and illegal activities being carried on in the premises of an oil D  mill near the Gurudwara at Ratangarh in the State of Madhya Pradesh  concerning narcotic and psychotrophic drugs and take appropriate action  on the basis of the enquiry report. The Registrar General of this Court is  directed to convey only this direction to the Director General of Police,  Madhya Pradesh. E  

U.R. Petition dismissed.