SC imposes cost of Rs 15,000 on UP govt for wastage of judicial time
New Delhi, Dec 13: The Supreme Court has imposed a cost of Rs 15,000 on the Uttar Pradesh government for "wastage of judicial time" in a case in which the state had filed an appeal in the apex court after a delay of over 500 days.
Noting the delay in the filing of the appeal, a bench headed by Justice S K Kaul said there was not even the "courtesy" of setting out the dates as to how the files had moved.
"The special leave petition is delayed by 576 days (535 days as the senior counsel contends). There is not even the courtesy of setting out the dates as to how the files have moved, possibly because we have been directing responsibility to be fixed and costs to be recovered from such persons who are responsible for the delay," the bench, also comprising justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Hrishikesh Roy, said in its December 1 order.
"We dismiss the special leave petition on the ground of delay, but for wastage of judicial time, consider appropriate to burden the petitioner with costs of Rs 15,000 to be deposited with the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Welfare Fund...," the bench said.
It said the cost be recovered from the officers responsible for the delay in the filing of the appeal in the top court.
"Thus, we are once again faced with a matter so as to obtain a certificate of dismissal and such cases we have categorised as 'certificate cases', brought before this court only to put a quietus to the matter and not fix the responsibility on the officers who are responsible for the situation," the bench noted.
The apex court was hearing an appeal filed by the state against the October 2018 order of a division bench of the Allahabad High Court.
The division bench of the high court had dismissed the state's appeal against the January 2018 order passed by a single-judge bench, which had directed the department concerned to regularise the service of a man.
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West Asia war: Vessel carrying 20,000 tonnes of LPG reaches Gujarat crossing Strait of Hormuz
Kandla (Gujarat) (PTI): A vessel carrying 20,000 metric tonnes of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) arrived at Deendayal Port Authority in Kandla in Gujarat after crossing the Strait of Hormuz amid the West Asia crisis, officials said on Sunday.
The Marshall Islands-flagged MV SYMI started its journey from Qatar and docked at the port in Kandla around 11.30 pm on Saturday after crossing the Strait of Hormuz on May 13, they added.
Since early March, 13 India-flagged vessels, comprising 12 LPG tankers and one crude oil tanker, have crossed the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway close to the coast of Oman through which roughly one-fifth of the world's energy supplies pass.
It has been severely disrupted by the conflict in West Asia that started on February 28, with the US and Israel launching joint attacks on Iran, triggering retaliatory strikes. It has resulted in one of the worst energy crisis the world has seen in recent decades.
Incidentally, at a special meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNECOSOC) on safeguarding energy and supply flows, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Parvathaneni Harish said targeting commercial shipping, endangering civilian crew and impeding freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is "unacceptable".
On May 13, an India-flagged commercial vessel came under attack off the coast of Oman.
Omani authorities rescued all 14 crew members of the vessel sailing from Somalia, but it was not immediately known who carried out the strike.
