On January 19, 2026, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea by Lucknow lawyer Ashok Pandey who claimed he was wrongly fined ₹5 lakh instead of ₹25,000. Pandey had filed a PIL challenging the oath of Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya as Bombay High Court Chief Justice. The bench led by former Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud had dismissed the PIL in October 2023 and imposed the fine for it being frivolous. Pandey argued the court order incorrectly stated ₹5 lakh as the fine, causing recovery action against him. However, the current bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant said, "We will go by the order, and it contains Rs five lakh," and denied modifying the penalty or conducting an inquiry. The Court criticized such petitions as "publicity petitions." The 2023 PIL had claimed Justice Upadhyaya’s oath was constitutionally invalid because he did not say "I" before his name. The Court said, "There is a limit to frivolity... This is only a frivolous attempt to use the PIL jurisdiction to get some publicity... such frivolous PILs take the time of the court and deflect the court from taking up important matters." It also noted the burden these petitions impose by requiring judges to spend extra time reviewing them. The Supreme Court showed zero tolerance for such cases and stood firm on the hefty fine to deter similar frivolous litigation in the future.