The Supreme Court has criticized the Union government for its pattern of relentless litigation, imposing a ₹25,000 penalty on the Centre for challenging a Punjab and Haryana High Court judgment reinstating a CISF constable.
A bench of justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan dismissed the special leave petition (SLP) and questioned why the Union had chosen to carry the matter to the apex court despite concurrent findings of the high court.
Justice Nagarathna delivered a pointed rebuke, underscoring that the government, while often expressing concern over judicial pendency, is itself the largest contributor to the backlog.
The bench stressed the urgent need for an internal filtration mechanism within the government's litigation machinery, particularly at the stage of seeking legal opinion.
The case concerned a CISF constable who was dismissed from service after about ten years on two charges, but the high court set aside the dismissal, ordering reinstatement with continuity of service.
The bench declined to interfere with the high court's order on back wages and proceeded to dismiss the petition with costs.
