The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Courts have been directed by the Supreme Court to be sympathetic to a law student whose Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was dismissed with costs and negative observations. A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Hima Kohli told the petitioner to send an affidavit to the High Court in which he or she apologises in no uncertain terms.
“We give the petitioner permission to submit an affidavit to the High Court in which he or she expresses an unequivocal apology for the way the petition was written and for other reasons. If a sincere apology is presented to the Chief Justice on an affidavit, the High Court is urged to regard it sympathetically in order to avoid any long-term negative effects on the petitioner’s professional prospects. “The petitioner claimed before this court that the High Court’s imposed costs had been paid,” said the bench.