Interested person not entitled to file PIL, says Supreme Court

The top court was hearing a plea filed by a pensioner against a Karnataka high court order
which had dismissed his petition on the issue related to pension to state information commissioners. An interested person is not entitled to file a public interest litigation (PIL), the Supreme Court has said while dismissing a plea against an order of the Karnataka High Court which had rejected a petition on the issue related to pension to state information commissioners.
The apex court noted that the petitioner, who had approached the high court challenging the January 2013 office memorandum issued by the state under which a provision was made to grant pension to the state information commissioners equivalent to the pension payable to the chief secretary, was also an aspirant to the post.
"The State Government has pointed out that the present petitioner was also an aspirant to the
post of State Information Commissioner and he had made an application seeking such appointment. It is pointed out that his application was rejected as he was not found to be suitable. It is submitted that this fact has been suppressed by the petitioner while filing the present petition. This is also a factor, which needs to be taken into consideration while we deal with this petition purportedly filed in public interest", the High court had observed. "Since the petitioner was also an aspirant to the post of the state information commissioner and has made an application seeking such employment as recorded in the judgment and order of the high court impugned, we are of the view that the high court has rightly declined to entertain the writ petition filed by him purportedly in the public interest," a bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and J K Maheshwari said. During the adjudication of the matter before the high court, the state had pointed out that the
petitioner was an aspirant to the post of state information commissioner and he had made an
application seeking appointment, which was rejected as he was not found to be suitable.