NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) that sought a direction to the authorities concerned to prohibit the practice of putting up images of deities on walls to prevent people from urinating, spitting or littering in public places. A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad lamented the “increase in the abuse of doctrine of PIL” while noting that it is “certainly not the duty of a Constitutional court to regulate and monitor the movement of each citizen to see whether one indulges in public urination, spitting and littering. The concern raised by the petitioner would be better addressed by civic bodies and not by this court.” The court also observed that it had earlier dealt with the same subject and passed an order too, yet another PIL on the matter was filed. “It is now being noticed that there has been an increase in the abuse of the doctrine of public interest litigation and multiple frivolous PILs are being filed by citizens in order to gain publicity, fame and popularity….the court in the aforesaid order has in clear terms stated that the solution to the menace of public urination lies elsewhere and not before the court,” the bench added. Taking note that the petitioner is a practising lawyer, the court wondered why he filed such a PIL despite being aware of the earlier order. “The present PIL is nothing but a sheer abuse of the doctrine of public interest litigation developed by the judiciary as a tool to espouse the cause of the oppressed and marginalised sections of the society,” it noted and dismissed the plea. Gorang Gupta, the petitioner, claimed that the common practice of affixing photographs of deities on walls to prevent urination, spitting and throwing garbage in public places had created a serious menace in society as these pictures did not guarantee the prevention of such acts. Instead, people publicly urinate or spit on the sacred images, the plea alleged. “This seriously denigrates and disparages the sanctity of the sacred images…Fear is used as an element to stop people from urinating or spitting and littering. These things cannot be permitted over the element of pure devotion borne out of faith and freedom to practise and profess one’s religion,” advocate Gupta said.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/cant-monitor-who-is-spitting-or-urinating-delhi-hc/articleshow/96358109.cms