The Allahabad High Court has penalized a petitioner for concealing facts in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), imposing a fine of Rs 15,000. The court made it clear that withholding crucial information amounts to fraud upon the court.

Public Interest Litigations are intended to allow individuals or organizations to raise issues of public concern before the judiciary. However, the Allahabad High Court has repeatedly shown its intolerance for the misuse of this legal instrument. Filing frivolous PILs or using them for ulterior motives like wasting the court's time or personal gain has led to the imposition of hefty fines.

In a similar instance, the Allahabad High Court dismissed a PIL and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000, observing that the petitioner persistently pursued a resolved issue, essentially manipulating the court. The court emphasized that such repeated attempts to raise already settled issues under the guise of public interest cannot be tolerated.

There have been other instances where the Allahabad High Court has taken a firm stance against the misuse of PILs and other legal instruments. For example, the Court imposed a cost of Rs 5 Lakh on a petitioner for filing a PIL seeking an inquiry into alleged connivance between government officials and a private party in revenue records. It also fined the Uttar Pradesh Police ₹1 lakh for detaining a pregnant woman at a police station to record her statement. Furthermore, the Allahabad High Court made it clear that the right to free speech does not extend to maligning the judiciary, penalizing a litigant who made unfounded allegations of corruption against judges.