The Supreme Court of India has recently came down strongly on a Lucknow-based lawyer Ashok Pandey for filing a petition challenging the reinstatement of Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha membership. The restoration followed a stay of conviction in the Modi surname defamation case. The apex court dismissed Pandey's plea and imposed a hefty cost of Rs 1 lakh on the petitioner.

A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta expressed their displeasure with Pandey, stating, "This petitioner is in the habit of filing frivolous petitions. This is yet another one." The court highlighted Pandey's repeated failure to appear despite the petition being called, emphasizing his tendency to file frivolous Public Interest Litigations (PILs). The bench criticized such actions for not only wasting the court's valuable time but also burdening the Registry. As a consequence, the court dismissed the petition and levied a cost of Rs 1 lakh on Ashok Pandey.

This incident follows a recent directive from the Supreme Court, where another PIL petitioner was required to deposit Rs 5 lakh as costs for a similarly frivolous plea. The previous case alleged that the Bombay High Court Chief Justice did not say 'I' while taking his oath of office.

In Ashok Pandey's petition, he contended that the law stipulates a member's disqualification until acquitted, and he urged the immediate holding of bypolls in Wayanad. The plea argued, "Once a member of Parliament or of a state legislature loses his office by operation of Law in Article 102, 191 of the Constitution r/w section 8 (3) of the Representation of People Act 1951, he will continue to be disqualified until he is acquitted from the charges levelled against him by some higher court."

Case: Ashok Pandey vs. Speaker, Lok Sabha.