In a writ petition filed before the Allahabad High Court seeking an order or direction in the nature of certiorari to quash an order dated 07-08-2023 by the State Information Commissioner, Lucknow, a Division Bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary dismissed the petition as non maintainable on the ground of laches.
The Court found that no explanation had been given with regard to the delay in filing the present petition at such a belated stage. It was stated that although no limitation is prescribed in law for filing a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, when the extraordinary jurisdiction is invoked, the Court must satisfy itself as to whether the same has been invoked within a reasonable time frame.
Reference was made to the Supreme Court’s decision in Tridip Kumar Dingal & Ors. v. State of W.B. & Ors. (2009) 1 SCC 768 as well as Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd. & Anr. v. K. Thangappan & Anr. (2006) 4 SCC 322, wherein it was held that the High Court may refuse to exercise extraordinary jurisdiction if there is negligence or omissions by the applicant to assert his right.
The Court found it apparent that the petitioner wished to challenge a stale order from 2023 and was of the opinion that there had been an inordinate delay of nearly three years in approaching the Court. It was held that the doctrine of delay and laches squarely applied to the facts of the present case, which could not be brushed aside.
Noting that the petitioner did not even put in any effort to explain the laches, the Court said that even though it had the constitutional duty to protect the citizens’ rights, it could not be oblivious to the fact that when an aggrieved person, without adequate reason, approaches the court at his own leisure, the court is under a legal obligation to scrutinize whether the lis should be entertained or not.
Thus, the petition was dismissed as not maintainable on ground of laches.
