Supreme Court has accepted the unconditional apology of Advocate Manohar Lal Sharma and has allowed him to file Public Interest Litigation petitions with certain checks. The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court passed this order on 10 July while hearing the bunch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of NJAC.
As we had reported earlier, on 1 May 2015, Court had issued a notice to Sharma to show cause as to “why he should not be debarred from filing and/or canvassing any Public Interest Litigation on account of the irresponsible and scandalous allegations levelled by him” in his pleadings challenging the NJAC. Notice was issued for usage of derogatory terms like “corrupt politicians and in-house criminals” for the parliamentarians in his Writ Petition(C) No. 14 of 2015 challenging NJAC. Sharma was given a week’s time to reply to the show cause notice.
After the notice was issued, Sharma tendered an unconditional apology to the Court and also filed a reply to the aforesaid show cause notice. Accepting his apology, bench directed him to expunge all derogatory remarks, made against persons not impleaded as parties in the petition, contained in his pleadings by moving an appropriate application for amendment of Writ Petition(C) No. 14 of 2015.
Sharma has also given an undertaking to the Court not to make any such or similar derogatory remarks in any public interest litigation, that he will file in future, without supporting material, and without impleading the concerned persons as party respondents.
Bench passed the following order:
We have heard Mr. Manohar Lal Sharma, advocate, the petitioner in Writ Petition(C) No. 14/2015. The unconditional apology tendered by him in Court, as also in his reply to the show cause notice dated 1.5.2015, is accepted. He is directed to expunge all derogatory remarks, made against persons not impleaded as parties in the petition, contained in his pleadings by moving an appropriate application for amendment of Writ Petition(C) No. 14 of 2015.
He undertakes to comply with the instant direction on or before 14.07.2015. He also undertakes not to make any such or similar derogatory remarks in any public interest litigation, that he will file hereinafter, without supporting material, and without impleading the concerned persons as party respondents.
The above undertaking is taken on record.
The Constitution Bench hearing the NJAC challenge has reserved its judgment after the arguments were concluded on 14 July 2015.
