India, June 16 -- The Karnataka high court on Tuesday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the constitutionality of chief minister DK Shivakumar's newly formed council of ministers, and fined the petitioner Rs.50,000, calling the plea a publicity stunt and a waste of judicial time.

"The present petition is premised on an erroneous ground that the number of ministers, including the chief minister, in a council of ministers cannot be less than 12% of the total members of the Karnataka legislature. A plain reading of the proviso to Article 164(1A) of the Constitution of India states that the number of ministers, including the chief minister, in a state shall not be less than 12," a bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and...