The Delhi High Court in KV Sagar v. Government OF NCT & Anr. while imposing a cost of Rs. 10,000 on a litigant seeking transfer of investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) despite a similar plea being dismissed as withdrawn by the Court on earlier occasion, observed that bringing up the same issue before the Court, again and again, amounts to wastage of the judicial time and is a gross abuse of the court process.
The Court had placed reliance on ‘State of West Bengal and Others v. Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights, West Bengal and Others’[1], wherein it has been observed that “the extra-ordinary power under Article 32, 226 of the Constitution of India must be exercised sparingly, cautiously and in exceptional situations where it becomes necessary to provide credibility to and instil confidence in investigation or where the incident may have national and international interest ramifications or where such an order may be necessary for doing complete justice and enforcing the fundamental rights, on being satisfied that the material discloses a prima facie case calling for investigation by CBI”.
In the instant case, petition has been again filed by the petitioner on similar grounds seeking the same relief despite withdrawal of earlier writ petition, which the Court was inclined to dismiss with the observation that bringing the same issue on the same facts decided by the Court again and again means abusing the process of law. Thus, mere prayer to refer such petty matters for CBI investigation takes away the right intent and seriousness of the legislation. The court also noted that the petitioner despite being a practicing advocate for 31 years has resorted to re-filing an earlier withdrawn writ petition, which is being correctly investigated by the state in accordance with law.
[1] (2010) 3 SCC 571