SC junks PIL challenging oath taking of Bombay CJ D K Upadhyaya, imposes fine on petitioner
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday junked as "frivolous" a PIL seeking a direction that Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya be sworn in again as the Bombay High Court Chief Justice as the oath was not taken as prescribed under the Constitution.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the lawyer for filing the plea.
The PIL submitted that when Justice Upadhyaya was sworn in as the chief justice of the Bombay High Court on July 29, this year he did not use the expression I' before taking his name in contravention to the third schedule of the Constitution.
"There is a limit to frivolity...," a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said while coming down hard on Lucknow-based lawyer Ashok Pandey.
"The prayers raised in the plea are seeking for administration of fresh oath to Justice D K Upadhyay as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. It further states that the Governor and chief minister of Goa, Daman and Diu were not invited for the ceremony," the bench, also comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said.
"This is only a frivolous attempt to use the PIL jurisdiction to get some publicity...such frivolous PILs take the time of the court and deflect the court from taking up important matters," the bench said, adding that now the time has come to impose fine for filing such cases.
The bench, which initially suggested that it will impose an anticipatory cost of Rs one lakh before hearing the PIL, later heard it briefly and imposed Rs 25,000 as fine.
"We have to sit down and read these matters and burn our midnight oil...This is quite serious," the bench said.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
