Ashok Kumar v. The State of Bihar
Writ Petition – Public Interest Litigation – Alternate Remedy
Case brief
What is this about?
Patna High Court CWJC No.25118 of 2019, decided 13-09-2024; oral judgment by Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran with Justice Nani Tagia on the bench. Two individual petitioners (Ashok Kumar, Rajiv Kumar) against the State of Bihar (Revenue and Land Reforms), BSEB, Vaishali district officials, a higher secondary school and its governing body. Petition dismissed: PIL not maintainable on the subject matter; extraordinary jurisdiction not invokable; alternate efficacious remedy under the Bihar Public Land Encroachment Act, 1956 pointed out; dismissal with liberty to proceed under that Act, without observation on merits or locus standi, which is for the Appropriate Authority under the Act of 1956. No precedent cited, no quantum involved.
What did the court decide?
Dismissal of the petition with the liberty granted to the petitioner to proceed under the Bihar Public Land Encroachment Act, 1956; expressly no observation made on merits or on the petitioner's locus standi.