No case too big or small for the Supreme Court: CJI
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New Delhi: The Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Friday said that no case is too big or too small for the Supreme Court.
"If we do not act in matters of personal liberty and grant relief, then what are we doing here? If it does not hear the cry of such petitioners then why are they burning the midnight oil for such cases?" he further asked.
He was hearing a plea filed by a person ordered to undergo consecutive prison sentences of 18 years in nine separate cases. The petitioner was charged with stealing electricity from the department on nine occasions. He has already served a seven-year sentence.
Chief Justice Chandrachud called his sentence "absolutely shocking" and set aside the impugned judgement of the high court concerned.
The Supreme Court said the sentences imposed on the appellant in the nine sessions trials shall run concurrently and the jail authorities shall act on this order. The CJI also remarked that the high court should intervene when such a matter comes before it.
He also noted that public interest litigations are used as a blackmail tool targeting infrastructure projects. He was addressing a matter challenging the redevelopment of a plot at Worli in Mumbai. He remarked that it is happening in several cities in India.