SC warns litigant for scandalous plea, asks him to behave

The Supreme Court today warned a PIL litigant for filing a plea against a woman and asked him to "behave" appropriately saying he has crossed all "sense of propriety, restraint and decorum".
Restraining media from publishing "anything that will relate to identity of the lady", the bench of justices Dipak Misra and Amitava Roy expunged the "scandalous" contentions raised by Sabu Stephen, who had filed the PIL on the issue of culling of stray dogs, against a person in his interim plea.
"While we do not entertain this application, we caution and warn the petitioner to conduct himself appropriately and restrain from making any slightest effort to file such applications before this court or any court relating to this incident," the bench said.

Referring to the content of the plea, it said, "... If we allow ourselves to say so, he has crossed all sense of propriety, restraint, decorum and, in fact, demonstrated brazen sense of insensibility and insensitivity to the process of adjudication and dignity for women."
It also said that it seemed Stephen has thrown the "initial decorum that allowed him to address the court to the winds".
Restraining all who possessed the copy of the plea from further circulating and using, the bench said it was also discernible that the allegations made were "scandalous, unwarranted, indecent and absolutely uncalled for".

The bench also restrained media from revealing identity of the lady. However, it said, "They (media) are at liberty to publish the order passed today as that is an order of the court."
The court had a word of caution for the non-lawyer petitioner who was allowed to take up the public cause.
"When the petitioner's public interest litigation was entertained and he was permitted to argue in person, he should have understood that this court had appreciated his concern, but by filing the present interlocutory application, it seems that he has thrown the initial decorum that allowed him to address the court to the winds," it said.