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Aleemuddin v. The State of Uttar Pradesh

Civil Appeal · 2018 INSC 1126Decided 30 Nov 2018
Civil Appeal No. 11703 of 2018
Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud · Justice M.R. Shah

Background

A person (the fifth respondent in this appeal) filed what he called a public-interest petition in the Allahabad High Court asking that a government Tehsil office building be relocated to a specific village plot, and the High Court directed the State to build it there. The appellant later found out that the land adjacent to the proposed new site belonged to the petitioner's own family, and his recall application against the order was rejected by the High Court. He then appealed to the Supreme Court, and the State's own affidavit confirmed it had already decided to rebuild the Tehsil office at its old location rather than move it.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the High Court petition was not a genuine public-interest litigation but was filed to serve the petitioner's personal financial interest, since his family's adjoining land would have gained value from the relocation. The Court held that deciding where a government office building should be located is purely an administrative/executive decision, not something a High Court should direct through its writ jurisdiction under Article 226. It set aside the High Court's original directive and allowed the State Government to decide the matter itself according to law, while cautioning High Courts to stay alert to PILs being misused for private ends. The appeal was allowed and the matter disposed of with no costs.

Lesson Learnt

Courts will look behind a petition's "public interest" label to check who actually benefits, and will strike down PIL-based directions that improperly substitute judicial orders for the government's own administrative decision-making.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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