High Court fines lawyer

The Bombay High Court on Thursday fined a lawyer and dismissed his PIL seeking the court’s intervention in the nuke deal.

“Petitioner as a lawyer is also an officer of the court. He is obliged to act with a great sense of responsibility and realise the consequences of filing such frivolous petition,” the court said in its order.

Former president of Bombay City Civil and Sessions Court Bar Association MV Holmagi had filed a PIL urging the court to advise the government to stop pursuing the deal with the US, as measure of judicial activism. “It is unfortunate that a practising advocate has opted to act in such an irresponsible manner and has instituted the present petition primarily with the intent of publicity”, read the order. The court has fined Holmagi Rs5,000.

Holmagi had filed another PIL seeking an unconditional apology from the governments of UK and Australia for allegedly terming Indians terrorists after Dr Mohammed Hanif was arrested in Australia in a terrorist case. “Such repeated attitude of the petitioner ostracises him from the class of lawyers.”