The Supreme Court dismissed the Special Leave Petition (SLP) for inordinate delay and misuse of the legal aid process, after finding the convict had never consented to appeal.
The SLP on behalf of Kamaljit Kaur was filed through legal aid, with a delay of 2,298 days against a judgment dated 20 November 2018. The main prayer was condonation of delay and leave to contest the conviction before the Supreme Court.
Notably, as per the jail superintendent’s affidavit, the convict did not express any interest in challenging the lower court judgment. The SLP was filed solely due to legal aid authorities’ automatic directions, not at the instance or with the participation of the petitioner.
The Bench comprising Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Prasanna B. Varale observed that pushing SLPs without a petitioner’s volition, simply to comply with NALSA, amounts to misuse of process and wastes judicial time.
The Court dismissed the SLP citing non-explanation of the long delay and absence of the petitioner’s desire to approach the Court. It warned that legal aid should not be misused for pro forma appeals, reiterating that SLPs should be filed only when genuinely instructed by prisoners or parties. All pending applications were closed.
Appearances:
For the Petitioner: Mr. Rameshwar Singh Malik, Sr. Adv.; Ms. Savita Devi, Mr. Jitesh Malik, Advs.; Mr. Rajiv Kumar Sinha, AOR
