The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation that alleged irregularities in the online sale of tickets for the ODI between India and New Zealand here on January 24, observing that the PIL had been filed for publicity.
A division bench Justices S A Dharmadhikari and Prakash Chandra Gupta also imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on the petitioner, a local Congress leader, for wasting the court’s time.
“The PIL has been filed by the petitioner without verifying the authenticity of the allegations levelled against the respondents and that too without any supporting documents. The same has been filed only with the purpose of gaining popularity,” the judges said on Wednesday.
Petitioner Rakesh Singh Yadav had moved the HC against the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI), Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) and the state government claiming malpractices in the sale of tickets for the third One Day International of the 3-match series between India and New Zealand, here on January 24.
MPCA rejected the charges contending that the PIL was primarily based on a report published in a Hindi newspaper. “In view of the above and also looking at the fact that it is a settled proposition of law that a PIL on the basis of newspaper reporting is not maintainable, this court finds no reason to entertain the petition and the same deserves to be and is hereby dismissed with cost of Rs 25,000 imposed on the petitioner for wasting the precious time of this court,” said the bench.
