The Bombay High Court strongly criticized a lawyer for initiating a public interest litigation (PIL) petition that relied solely on information sourced from social media platforms
Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor, on a division bench, declined to consider advocate Ajitsingh Ghorpade's petition requesting directives for the Maharashtra government to implement safety measures for individuals visiting waterfalls and water bodies in the State.
The petition highlighted an alarming statistic: an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 individuals lose their lives annually while visiting precarious waterfalls and water bodies.
The division bench inquired about the origin of this data. The petitioner's lawyer, Manindra Pandey, asserted that the information was gathered from newspapers and social media posts. However, the Court remained unconvinced and deemed the petition lacking in specificity and precise details, thus finding it inadequate for consideration.
Pandey emphasized the need for the State government to be directed towards implementing measures aimed at ensuring the safety and protection of individuals frequenting these water bodies and waterfalls.
He also pointed out that during a recent drowning incident, there was no rescue team due to which the body of the victim was retrieved only two days after the incident.
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