High Court Rejects Plea Challenging Amendment of Public Safety Act by “J&K Bar Association, Srinagar” for Lack of Locus Standi

The petition, originally filed by advocate Arshad Andrabi on behalf of the Bar Association, was challenged on various grounds, with the main objection being the maintainability of the petition.

The respondents, represented by Advocate General DC Raina, argued that the Bar Association was not authorized to file the petition. Raina emphasized that the petitioner is neither an authorized association nor registered under the Jammu and Kashmir Societies Registration Act, therefore the present petition/PIL is not maintainable.

Concurring with the arguments raised by the respondents, the court recorded that the petitioner had failed to prove that the association was a registered society and this omission was considered fundamental to the dismissal.

Highlighting the deficiencies, the court observed,

“The petitioner has not attached any certificate to show that the petitioner is a registered society. On this ground alone, the present PIL is not maintainable as the petitioner association has no locus standi to file the same on behalf of the ‘Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, Srinagar’.

Additionally, the court took note of the procedural rules governing the filing of PILs in the High Court. Rule 24(4)(VII) of the Rules of Writ Procedure, 1997 requires petitioners to make prior representations to the relevant authorities before approaching the court, unless the situation requires urgency. However, the petitioner failed to fulfill these prerequisites, further damaging the validity of the petition, the court noted.

Based on these findings, the court dismissed the PIL, stating:

“Given the position of the defendants in the affidavit and the allegations made by Mr. DC Raina, learned attorney general, this Public Interest Litigation is not sustainable since the petitioner association has no legitimacy to file it in the name of the Bar Association of the High Court of J&K, Srinagar, and as such, the same is accordingly dismissed.”

Case Title: J&K High Court Bar Association, Srinagar through Arshad Andrabi vs State Of J&K

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (JKL) 285

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