The Supreme Court on Friday set an example by imposing a fine of Rs 10 lakh to RJD MLA Ravindra Singh for wasting valuable judicial time through a frivolous petition. Singh challenged a Patna high court order dismissing his plea which questioned the veracity of an article which published in a vernacular magazine in 1994.

The SC slammed the MLA by saying being a “representative of people he is found to be wasting judicial time by filing frivolous litigation”.

The SC bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar and also comprising Justices NV Ramana and DY Chandrachud couldn’t understand why Singh filed the petition before the high court in 2015.

The bench said, “We do fail to understand why he approached this court even though the high court order was explicit and clear. The instant course adopted by the petitioner is uncondonable because being a people’s representative he can’t be expected to misuse the jurisdiction of the court. The petition is dismissed with cost of Rs 10 lakh.”

The apex court said four weeks after it would hear the matter if the MLA fails to deposit the fine.

CJI Khehar was irritated by such frivolous petition. He asked, “Every day, we waste precious judicial time by going through these voluminous frivolous petitions. These busybodies must be stopped. Why should we accept such petitions? These petitions are multiplying with each passing day. What is going on? Why should three judges of the SC waste time dealing with such trash?”

In 2015, Singh was elected to the Bihar assembly from Arwal constituency in Jehanabad district. He had challenged the high court order which passed on December 6 last year by which his plea was dismissed.

The lawmaker said he had read the article in 2013 which was published 21 years ago in ‘Nyay Chakra’ and written against national harmony and national interest. He wrote about it to the President and Bihar chief minister.

Singh stated no authority took any action against the magazine; also the veracity of the article was not established.

In another case, the bench imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on a retired 66-year-old teacher from Maharashtra. The teacher moved the SC to challenge a reservation related notification of the state government.

The CJI explained the new mantra “weed out frivolous litigation”.