Lawyers can’t create work by becoming petitioners: SC on COVID PILs

New Delhi, May 6: As several coronavirus-related petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court since the nationwide lockdown began on March 24, with lawyers themselves as petitioners, the top court on Tuesday observed that lawyers “can’t keep creating work like this” in the absence of other work and warned of imposing costs.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, S K Kaul and B R Gavai said this when a plea by advocate Pawan Kumar Pathak came up before it, The Indian Express reported.

The petitioner sought a direction to implement the Centre’s circular which urged landlords not to evict tenants in case of non-payment of rent during the lockdown. 

Pathak urged the court to issue a direction against eviction of students by their landlords.

As the court questioned whether he is the petitioner in person, Pathak said there is also a student co-petitioner.

Justice Kaul then observed, “Lawyers are filing a number of cases with regard to COVID…. I don’t understand this.”

Justice Bhushan said there is a helpline for those aggrieved, and petitioners should approach that first, and that the court is not the one to implement the orders. The bench also said it will be forced to impose heavy costs if such petitions are going to be filed in such manner.

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-lockdown-sc-on-covid-pils-landlords-tenants-rent-6395841/