HC rejects Vikarabad court PIL

The bench held that the petitioners could not, in their individual capacity, represent the interests of the entire legal fraternity and the wider public

The Telangana High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the proposed construction of the new Vikarabad District Court Complex at Billadakla/Mekalagandi. A two-judge bench comprising Acting Chief Justice P. Sam Koshy and Justice Suddala Chalapathi Rao heard the petition filed by four practising advocates, including Bandi Narayana and others from Vikarabad district.

The petitioners contended that the State Government's decision to establish the complex on Billadakla/Mekalagandi poramboke land was arbitrary and against public interest, as the site had allegedly been found unsuitable by former Principal District and Sessions Judges. They argued that alternative locations, including the Horticulture Centre at Yennepally and land at Shivareddypet, were more suitable.

They sought directions to the government to reconsider the proposed site after conducting a proper feasibility and suitability assessment, keeping in view the interests of litigants, judicial officers, court staff, advocates and the general public.

Opposing the PIL, the government pleader questioned its maintainability and the petitioners' locus standi. He argued that the advocates, in their individual capacity, could not claim to represent the entire legal fraternity and the public without authorisation from the concerned Bar Associations.

Justice Sam Koshy observed that individuals could not maintain a PIL seeking to represent a larger section of society without establishing that they were authorised or competent to espouse such a collective cause. The bench held that the petitioners could not, in their individual capacity, represent the interests of the entire legal fraternity and the wider public, and dismissed the petition.