CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has dismissed a writ plea challenging the decision of the State government to shift the Assembly and Secretariat from the Omandurar Government Estate back to Fort St George.“It is for the government to decide which building shall be comfortable for the purpose of establishing the State Secretariat. If the government takes a policy decision to run the Secretariat from the old building, this court cannot issue a direction to the government to change its decision,’’ the First Bench comprising Chief Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice T S Sivagnanam observed on Wednesday.The bench was dismissing a public interest litigation petition by lawyer G Krishnamurthy challenging the shifting of the Secretariat. Among other things, he contended that the decision of the new government to shift the Secretariat and the Assembly back to St Fort George was a colossal waste of `1,200 crore.Indicting the petitioner, the Bench observed that it was well settled that a PIL was not meant to be a weapon to challenge the financial, economic or other decision made by the government in exercise of its administrative power. No doubt a person personally aggrieved by any such decision, which he regarded as illegal, could question the same in a court of law. But a PIL for such a cause could not be entertained. Such litigation could not per se be on behalf of the poor and downtrodden. It had also been settled by the apex court that the forum of PIL was not meant for serving political purpose or solving political problems; these ought to be solved through political process and not judicially. “The concept of PIL is evolved for the purpose of safeguarding the interest and welfare of poor people and not to decide the propriety of the policy decision of the government,’’ the bench observed, and dismissed the petition.
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