"Becoming a practice to gain publicity by filing petitions on sensitive issues": Allahabad HC while junking plea against Virgin Bhaskar

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court recently came down heavily on a petitioner who filed a plea against the airing of the web series Virgin Bhaskar, Season 2, streaming on OTT platforms Alt Balaji and Zee 5..Finding that his plea was tainted with the oblique motive of publicity, the Court took particular exception to the dissemination of the petition over the internet, before it was filed in Court..The Division Bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Rajeev Singh stated:."...it is apparent that the petitioner has invoked the writ jurisdiction of the Court for gaining unwarranted publicity in the garb of public interest. The proposed filing of the petition was publicised in social media even before it was filed or any order was passed on it only with the oblique motive of publicity."Allahabad High Court.The High Court invoked the Supreme Court's oft quoted dicta that public interest litigation was intended to make human rights meaningful to the deprived and the vulnerable..Elaborating upon the theme, the Bench took note of the rise in petitions being filed to garner publicity online stating that it amounts to abuse of process. It was said,."... it is becoming a practice to gain publicity by filing petitions on sensitive issues so that it becomes a topic of discussion in public knowing fully well the ultimate result. Thus, publishing of any material proposed to be brought before the courts before it is actually filed is not a healthy practice rather an abuse of the process. It unnecessarily at times may prejudice the minds of the Judges.".The Court exhorted the media to behave responsibly and avoid publishing these kinds of petitions before they were litigated..Finding that the petitioner was not deprived and that he was not seeking the enforcement of basic human rights, the Court recorded its finding that the litigation was prompted by a desire for publicity..The petition filed by Krishan Kanhaya Pal in person sought a stay on the broadcast of the web series ‘Virgin Bhaskar Season 2’ . The Petitioner alleged that a certain scene in the Series was defamatory because the name of a deity Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar is used as the name of the hostel “Ahilyabai Girls Hostel”..The Counsel for Zee 5 and Alt Balaji point out that the petition was disseminated online prior to being filed. In view of the same, Senior Counsel JN Mathur raised a preliminary objection that a petition was not in public interest, and rather one seeking publicity..The petitioner maintained that he filed the petition in due course. The Counsel for the Union of India, however, submitted that the Additional Solicitor General to whom it was served, S.B. Pandey, was hospitalized. He had not opened his email account to retrieve the petition, during this time. Therefore there was no possibility of it having escaped from his system, it was averred..Therefore, the Court concluded that the petition was filed to grab cheap publicity and closed proceedings..Senior Advocate Jaideep Mathur, Advocates Chandra Shekhar Sinha, Savitra Vardhan Singh, and Anushree Rauta argued for Alt Balaji and Zee 5..Read the Order here: