HC dismisses plea against MERC recording halt

The Bombay High Court (HC) on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by a Mumbai activist challenging a decision of the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) to discontinue audio/video recordings of the proceedings, after holding that such recordings of the proceedings cannot be used as ‘evidence’ in any court of law.

While rejecting a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Mumbai resident Kamlakar Ratnakar Shenoy, an HC division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Ashvin Akhand noted that the PIL lacked ‘public interest’ and was instead ‘motivated by personal grievances.’