Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:21276-DB Chief Justice's Court Case :- PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (PIL) No. - 2319 of 2024 Petitioner :- Chhitanee Prasad and 8 others Respondent :- State of U.P. and 4 others Counsel for Petitioner :- Akhil Kumar Srivastava, Dhananjay Kumar Dwivedi Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C., Seema Agarwal (S.C.), Achal Singh Hon'ble Arun Bhansali,Chief Justice Hon'ble Kshitij Shailendra,J. 1. The writ petition has been filed seeking a direction to respondents to inquire into the matter of all work done by the department in the Itkhari, Block Karvi, District Chitrakoot. 2. Submissions have been made in the writ petition that respondent No. 5, the Gram Pradhan, has indulged into wrong doing, whereby funds of the Gram Panchayat have been defrauded and despite complaints made in this regard, no action has been taken. 3. Instructions have been produced, inter alia, indicating that out of nine petitioners, six are elected members of the Gram Panchayat, which aspect has been suppressed by the petitioners. Further indications have been made that inquiry against the Gram Pradhan pertaining to the allegations made has been done and after the inquiry under Section 95 (1)(g) of Uttar Pradeseh Panchayat Raj Act, 1947, Chief Development Officer, based on the final report given in this regard, came to conclusion that allegations made have no substance and, consequently, passed the order, whereby the financial powers of the Gram Pradhan, which were taken away, were restored. The said order was passed way back on 04.09.2023, which order also has been suppressed by the petitioners. 4. Counsel for the petitioners attempted to make submissions that not all the petitioners are members of the Gram Panchayat and that order absolving respondent No. 5 is not justified. 5. We have considered the submissions made by the learned counsel for the parties and have perused the material available on record. 6. The petition only indicates that petitioners are public interested persons and that the petition has been filed in public interest and that they are villagers and social workers, however, it was incumbent on the petitioners, who were members of the Gram Panchayat and apparently, against the Gram Pradhan, to have disclosed status as such members and non-disclosure essentially amounts to suppression of the material fact. Further the fact that order dated 04.09.2023 has been passed has also deliberately not been placed on record, though submissions have been made that exoneration of respondent No. 5 was not justified. Filing of the public interest litigation, with unclean hands and that too with ulterior motive cannot be countenanced. 7. The petition, therefore, is dismissed with cost of Rs.10,000/-. The cost would be deposited by the petitioners with the Legal Services Authority of this Court. In case, the same is not deposited within a period of one month, the Authority will be free to initiate proceedings for recovery. Order Date :- 14.2.2025 Sazia/P.Sri. (Kshitij Shailendra, J) (Arun Bhansali, CJ) Digitally signed by :- SAZIA AQUIL High Court of Judicature at Allahabad