Santoshi Yadav v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.19320 of 2025 ====================================================== Santoshi Yadav, Son of Late Bhup Yadav, Resident of village- Barahi, Police Station- Biraul, District- Darbhanga.

... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

1.

The State of Bihar through the Additional Chief Secretary, Rural Development Deptt. Govt. of Bihar Patna.

2.

The District Magistrate, Dist.- Darbhanga.

3.

The Sub Divisional Magistrate, Biraul, Dist.- Darbhanga. 4.

The Block Development Officer, Biraul, Dist.- Darbhanga. ... ... Respondent/s ====================================================== Appearance :

For the Petitioner/s :

Mr. Sunil Kumar Singh, Advocate For the Respondent/s :

Mr. P.K. Shahi, Advocate General ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE and HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SUDHIR SINGH ORAL ORDER (Per: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE) 12-01-2026 This writ application, in the nature of Public Interest Litigation, has been filed for the following reliefs :- "i) That in the larger public interest, this is an application for issuance of an appropriate writ order or direction, directing the Respondents Authority to make enquiry in the loot of Public Money by five persons namely:- Smt. Geeta Devi, W/o Sri Rajiv Kumar Yadav, D/o Sri Raj Kumar Yadav, Smt. Dropati Devi, W/o Sri Sanjay Yadav, D/o Sri Jogi Yadav, Smt. Lalita Devi, W/o Sri Raja Ram Yadav, D/o Sri Bhola Yadav, Smt. Sita Devi, W/o Sri Anand Kishore Yadav, D/o Sri Birendra Yadav and Smt. Sudhira Devi, W/o Sri Suresh Yadav, D/o Sri Manmohan Yadav, All R/o Ward

2/5 No.01, Itwa Shivnagar Panchayat, P.S.- Biraul, Dist.- Darbhanga in the name of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana, Gramin in their Maike concealing the fact that they have been residing in their respective matrimonial houses with their husband with the help of Govt. Employees without constructing the house. They have embezzled the public money which is hard earned money of taxpayers of the country.

ii) That further making enquiry that the said five beneficiaries alongwith other 11 members of their families have illegally withdrawn MNREGA funds from the Itwa Shiv Nagar Panchayat with the involvement of Govt. Employees. They have embezzled substantial Govt. funds in the name of cattleshed, tree planting and pond construction.

iii) That further taking departmental action against the erring govt.

employees involved in this illegal loot of public money and further recovery from the beneficiaries who have been illegally benefited from various Govt. schemes and have misused and embezzled Govt. funds for many years with the help of Govt. Officials.

iv) For any other reliefs for which the petitioner is entitled in the facts and circumstances of the case."

2. It is stated in the petition that Smt. Geeta Devi, Smt. Dropati Devi, Smt. Lalita Devi, Smt. Sita Devi and Smt. Sudhira Devi, are the persons who have been sanctioned money for construction of houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana but they have not constructed the house and the authorities are

3/5 not taking any steps for recovery of the amount from those persons and in that respect, representation has already been submitted before respondent No. 2.

3. The learned Advocate General, on the other hand, while not disputing that the five persons have received the money under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and not constructed the house, pointed out that Annexure-P/5 clearly indicates that the authorities are taking steps against those persons for recovery of the amount which has been sanctioned in their favour.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that since the petitioner has submitted a representation before respondent No. 2 on 25.05.2025 under Annexure-P/4, the same may be directed to be disposed of in accordance with law.

5. Before considering the said submission, it is relevant to refer to the parameters laid down under Chapter XXI-CC of the Rules of the High Court at Patna, 1916, for filing Public Interest Litigation, which is reproduced herein below:

"6. To facilitate the aforesaid purpose, a petitioner in a PIL shall state in clear terms the relief prayed for in paragraph-1 of the petition and the grounds in paragraph-2. In paragraph-3, he must give full and complete details of himself to reveal his interest,

4/5 credentials and qualification relevant for the PIL, along with a declaration that he has no personal interest, direct or indirect, in the subject matter of the PIL. In addition, ordinarily, the petitioner is required to set out all relevant facts with supporting data, reports, etc.

7. After arriving at a prima facie satisfaction regarding the credentials of the petitioner and the correctness of the contents of the petition, if the Court finds that the petition was filed by busybodies for extraneous or ulterior motives, the Bench may impose exemplary costs."

6. In the present case, the petitioner has stated that he is a citizen of India residing within the territorial jurisdiction of this Court and has asserted that he has no personal interest, direct or indirect, in the subject matter of the case. The petitioner has further described himself as a social worker engaged in social service and raising his voice against illegal acts of Government employees and officers. However, beyond such general assertions, the writ petition does not disclose any particulars or supporting material relating to the petitioner's credentials or qualifications relevant to the public cause sought to be espoused.

7. In the absence of such disclosure, this Court is unable to arrive at a prima facie satisfaction regarding the credentials of the petitioner in terms of Rule 7 of Chapter

5/5 XXI-CC of the Rules.

8. In view of Chapter XXI-CC of the Rules of the High Court at Patna and the fact that the authorities have already initiated the proceedings and taken steps against the five persons who have received money, we do not find any reason for a further direction to the respondent No. 2 to take a decision on Annexure-P/4.

9. In view of such state-of-affair, the writ petition stands disposed of.

10. Interlocutory application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.

(Sangam Kumar Sahoo, CJ) (Sudhir Singh, J) Rajesh/- U