New Delhi, 10April 2026: The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain 25 Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petitions filed by advocate Sachin Gupta, asking him to focus on his legal profession instead of filing multiple pleas on a wide range of subjects.
A Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi permitted the petitioner to withdraw the pleas, observing that the petitions did not merit consideration in public interest jurisdiction.
“Concentrate on the profession. You should approach the authorities, make them wiser on certain issues instead of rushing to the court,” Chief Justice Surya Kant remarked, further stating that as a member of the Bar and a person with legal knowledge, the petitioner should identify issues with an analytical approach and try to sensitise the authorities concerned.
Recording that the PILs were “purportedly in public interest”, the Bench said they were “not entertained”.
The petitions covered a wide range of issues, including development of a new link language for India, revision of polishing standards for pulses, re-criminalisation of adultery, and recognition of a “sex agreement”.
Other prayers included policies on legal awareness programmes on television, regulation of chemicals in soaps, social media use by government officials, population control, animal welfare, and guidelines on criminal sentencing.
The petitioner had also sought directions for introducing a national calendar titled “Bharat Samvat”, revising national symbols, regulating advertisements of government schemes, and mandating disclosure of food habits of staff in eateries.
The order comes in the backdrop of the Court having last month dismissed four similar PILs filed by the same advocate on diverse issues such as alcohol regulation, land registration, and even claims relating to “tamasic” properties of onion and garlic.
During the hearing on March 26, the Bench had expressed strong disapproval over the manner in which such petitions were being filed.
“Aadhi raat ko yeh sab petition draft karte ho kya?” the Chief Justice had remarked, questioning the quality and seriousness of the pleadings.
The Court had also cautioned against the growing trend of filing frivolous PILs, referring to concerns about “PIL shops” being run in the name of public interest litigation.
It may be recalled that in the course of the hearing of the Sabarimala reference by a nine-judge Constitution Bench on Wednesday, April 8, when Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had flagged the issue of PILs being entertained on matters concerning sensitive religious practices, Chief Justice Kant had said that courts have, in recent years, evolved strict parameters to scrutinise PILs and ensure that only genuine causes are entertained.
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Pramod kumar is a Senior Journalist, Covering Supreem Court of India
