New Delhi, December 9, 2024: In a stern rebuke, the Supreme Court dismissed the special leave petition (SLP) filed by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and imposed a cost of ₹50,000 each on FCI and its Divisional Manager for misusing judicial remedies.

The case was heard by a bench comprising Justices Bela M. Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma, who held that the petitioners’ actions were not only legally untenable but also a waste of the Court’s valuable time.

The petitioners sought to challenge a common impugned order dated October 19, 2023, passed by the High Court of Tripura, Agartala.

This followed a prior dismissal of an earlier SLP by a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court on January 4, 2024, which had expressly denied the petitioners any liberty to file a review petition before the High Court.

Despite this, the petitioners proceeded with a review petition before the High Court, which was also dismissed on July 10, 2024, prompting the present SLP.

SC Rebukes FCI for Filing Baseless Petition

Justice Bela M. Trivedi, expressing the bench’s frustration, questioned the maintainability of the review petition without obtaining prior liberty from the Supreme Court.

“This has to be dismissed with cost. How dare you file this? Who is the advocate on record? Argue,” she demanded at the outset.

When the counsel for the petitioners, Purushottam Sharma Tripathi, attempted to defend the SLP on its merits, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma interjected, asking,

“Under which provision of law?” The bench noted that the SLP had been earlier dismissed on merit, and filing a review before the High Court without specific permission from the apex court violated procedural norms.

Court Warns Against Misuse of Legal Process

Justice Trivedi remarked that FCI, being a public institution, should not misuse judicial remedies.

“For once, we can understand a private party taking chances, but not FCI,” she stated. The Court made it clear that such actions burden the judiciary unnecessarily, diverting time from more pressing matters.

Despite repeated requests from the counsel to withdraw the SLP, the bench dismissed the petition with costs and directed that the penalty be deposited with the Supreme Court Legal Services Authority.

Case Details

• Case Name: The Food Corporation of India & Anr. v. Namita Paul
• Diary No.: 50350-2024
• Bench: Justices Bela M. Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma
• Order Date: December 9, 2024