New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted a final opportunity to the Akhil Bhartiya Shanti Pratishthan to deposit the balance amount of Rs 35,000 as part of a cost imposed for filing a frivolous Public Interest Litigation (PIL), sternly warning that no further extensions would be granted and failure to comply may lead to suo motu contempt proceedings, reports Dynamite News correspondent.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta expressed displeasure over the petitioner's repeated delay in paying the penalty amount of Rs 45,000, which was originally imposed on October 14, 2022, when the petitioner’s writ petition was dismissed. So far, only Rs 10,000 has been deposited in the PM CARES Fund, with the remaining Rs 35,000 still unpaid.
“This is the last and final opportunity. The remaining amount must be deposited by June 30, 2025,” the Court ordered.
At the outset of the hearing, Justice Kant remarked sharply, "First, you file the frivolous PIL, and when the cost is imposed, you keep filing extension applications. For how many years have you been doing this? Now we will start imposing costs on these applications too."
The bench recorded that multiple applications had been filed seeking time extensions, and although the petitioner had deposited Rs 10,000 on March 26, 2025, a fresh request was made to extend the deadline by one more month to deposit the balance Rs 35,000.
Taking a lenient view for the final time, the Court allowed the request but made it explicitly clear that the Registry shall not entertain any further applications for extension. The Court also issued a stern warning: “In case the petitioner does not submit a compliance affidavit, suo motu contempt proceedings may be initiated.”
The matter stems from a writ petition dismissed in 2022, which the Court found to lack merit and to have been filed with no substantial public interest, thus warranting a financial penalty.
The Court reiterated its intent to deter misuse of the PIL mechanism.
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