Man wants to know about Netaji, SC slaps Rs.50,000 cost

The Supreme Court Monday imposed a cost of Rs.50,000 on a petitioner advocate as it dismissed as "frivolous" his plea seeking directions to the government to furnish details on the mysterious disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

Dismissing the petition by M.L. Sharma as "frivolous", a bench of Chief Justice R.M. Lodha, Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman initially imposed a cost of Rs.1 lakh but scaled it down to Rs.50,000 as it held that the petitioner advocate was in the habit of filing frivolous petitions.

The court asked the petitioner advocate in which year Netaji was born. Sharma told the court Bose was born in 1897, and said he wanted the entire country to know what happened to the freedom fighter.

"You think it is a good cause, we find it hopeless," said Chief Justice Lodha, as Sharma sought to defend his intention and cause of bringing in a public interest litigation to find out the truth about Netaji's whereabouts.

Sharma told the court that files relating to Netaji have been declared classified and were not available for public knowledge.

The petitioner sought direction to the government to file a copy of the entire correspondence and documents, pertaining to Netaji that are lying with the British government and, in the interest of the general public, to declare illegal and void the treaty between India and the Britain regarding Bose.