New Delhi, April 10 The Supreme Court on Friday told an advocate, who has filed 25 separate public interest litigations (PILs) on a range of issues, that he should approach the authorities instead of rushing to the court.
As soon as the matter was called up for hearing, advocate Sachin Gupta, who was appearing as a petitioner himself, told a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant that he wanted to withdraw the PILs.
"You focus on your profession. You should approach the authorities and make them aware of certain issues instead of rushing to court," the CJI, who headed the bench which also comprised Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, told Gupta.
The bench said that the court would also consider his petitions at the appropriate stage, if the need arises.
The CJI said that as a member of the bar and a person with legal knowledge, the petitioner should identify the issues with an analytical approach and try to make the concerned authorities aware.
The bench said that if nothing happens, the petitioner may approach the court.
The Supreme Court allowed the petitioner to withdraw the 25 PILs which were listed for hearing.
The PILs filed by the petitioner sought a range of directions, including to frame a policy to develop a common language for official purposes in the country and to draft a policy for a legal awareness show on television to spread legal knowledge among the general public.
The prayers made in the PILs included a direction to draft a policy to issue guidelines regarding the use of chemicals in soaps and to allow only those chemicals that kill harmful bacteria and not those that are essential for skin health.
One of the PILs sought a direction to draft a policy for the upliftment of disadvantaged groups such as beggars and transgender people.
On March 9, the Supreme Court had dismissed five "frivolous" public interest litigations (PILs) filed by Gupta, including one seeking a scientific study on whether onions and garlic contain "tamasic" (negative) energy, and asked him if he drafted them in the middle of the night.
"Do you draft all these petitions in the middle of the night?" the CJI had reprimanded him, terming the PILs "vague, frivolous, and baseless".
The bench had also dismissed four other PILs filed by Gupta, including one that sought directions to regulate allegedly harmful content in alcohol and tobacco products.
