Mathews J Nedumpara
10th June 2026.
Almost all SLPs and Writ Petitions instituted in the Supreme Court of India are dismissed in limine in hearings which on an average last 93 seconds. The explanation is that the time at the disposal of the Court is limited. However, the courts have all the time to hear Prashant Bhushan, Ashwani Upadhyay, Indira Jaising and other serial PIL wallahs, because the PILs are extremely popular and profitable to the judges.
- The PIL is a nasty business where the judges decide matters concerning the public at large behind their back. Using terminology like continuous mandamus, the PILs empower the court to run the Government. I have been closely watching the PIL industry since it came into existence. It is a ravenous wolf in the clothing of a sheep. It means fame, power and money to all concerned. The gullible public thinks that it has done enormous good. It has destroyed the institution of judiciary, I fear beyond repair. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That is equally true for judges and lawyers. When the judges become corrupt, their moral authority is lost: so too their independence. The perception today is that the Court is controlled by the Government. If that is true, the proponents of the Collegium and judicial lawmaking and supremacy should ask themselves: why is it so, in spite of the Collegium?
3.I have come across news reports which suggest that I have filed a PIL. I have never done so. My petitions are all ones which seek the undoing of mischief caused by PILs.