“This court is not a political arena,” Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur ticked off PIL petitioner who described himself as 'BJP spokesperson' while throwing out his plea for a national prohibition on liquor.
"Is BJP financing you to carry out campaign for the party in courts," the Bench, also comprising Justice D Y Chandrachud, asked advocate Ashiwini Upadhyay.
"You have become a professional PIL activist and we see you are filing a PIL every day. There is hardly a day when you don't file a PIL. Why don't you do professional work? It's your party which is in power at the Centre, so why don't you approach the government with your grievances," Chief Justice Thakur asked Mr. Upadhyay.
"We don't want to encourage the practice of political activist trying to use the judicial forum for political gain," it said.
The Bench observed that the credibility of the Supreme Court would also be at stake if it starts admitting all the PILs that come its way.
