HC rejects Charitable Trust’s plea for fresh petition in Amarnath Langer dispute

Justice Mohd Yousaf Wani of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, while rejecting an application seeking withdrawal of a writ petition with liberty to file afresh, held that the jurisdiction exercised under Article 226 of the Constitution is not shackled by procedural technicalities but nor is it an unregulated space for speculative or unjustified litigation maneuvers.

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"A writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution cannot be allowed to be withdrawn on the basis of any unjustified ground on the pretext that the jurisdiction of the writ Courts is not circumscribed or limited by procedural technicalities, after all there has to be a sound and justified ground for seeking the withdrawal of a writ petition with liberty to file a fresh one on the same subject matter," observed Justice Mohammad Yousuf Wani while dismissing the withdrawal plea filed by Bhole Bhandari Charitable Trust.

The petition was filed by the Trust, seeking judicial direction to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) to issue an Expression of Interest (EOI) and subsequently a Letter of Intent (LOI) for establishing a bhandara (free langer services) at Panjtharni for the annual Amarnath Yatra, 2025.

The petitioner claimed to have served yatris selflessly for over 28 years and asserted that denial of permission by SASB, despite repeated representations, was arbitrary, non-speaking, and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.