ML Sharma and the case of petitions aplenty

Activist petitioner and advocate ML Sharma, who recently filed a public interest litigation (PIL) against Ranbaxy, is known for filing a string of petitions across issues. Among others, Sharma has filed a PIL against Indian Administrative Service officer Durga Sakthi’s suspension by the Uttar Pradesh government and one seeking investigation into the Aam Aadmi Party’s funds.

Last year, he had moved the Supreme Court, questioning why Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s name wasn’t included in the first investigation report on the coal block allocation scam.

Sharma had also approached the apex court, seeking the registration of a case against then chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, education minister Manish Sisodia and the Aam Aadmi Party for allegedly misleading citizens by making “false” promises in its election manifesto. He had also filed a PIL in the Vodafone tax case, claiming then chief justice SH Kapadia had a conflict of interest in the case. The Supreme Court had dismissed Sharma’s petition and fined him Rs 50,000.

Sharma, a member of Maharashtra Bar Council, is representing Mukesh, brother of main accused Ram Singh in the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case.

So far, Sharma has filed about 35 petitions in the Supreme Court. However, most were dismissed at the preliminary stage. In the case of Ranbaxy, too, the court had, on June 25, dismissed Sharma’s PIL that alleged the company had manufactured and sold adulterated drugs. It said there was no evidence to show the pharmaceuticals giant manufactured sub-standard drugs.