PRAYAGRAJ, Dec. 18 -- The Allahabad high court has converted a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in 2014 seeking restriction and regulation of acid sales in Uttar Pradesh into a suo motu proceeding after the original petitioner expressed his unwillingness to pursue the case further. The order was passed after petitioner Anubhav Verma submitted that he did not wish to continue with the litigation. While allowing him to withdraw, a division bench of Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Vivek Saran observed that the matter involved significant public interest and could not be closed solely on the petitioner's request. In its December 9 order, the court said, "While we cannot judge the choice or motive of the original petitioner who wishes to withdraw from such a genuine public interest litigation, we observe that the interest of justice may be defeated if such litigation is permitted to be withdrawn on the volition of the original petitioner, to the extent this is not adversarial litigation but public interest litigation." The bench further stated, "We permit the original petitioner Anubhav Verma and Sri Pradeep Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioner, to withdraw from the case but we maintain the cause. Accordingly, let the present proceeding be re-registered as a suo-motu proceeding after making necessary changes in the party description etc." The court directed the Registry to maintain the cause and re-register the matter as a suo motu petition. To assist the court in the proceedings, advocates Akansha Mishra and Utkarshini Singh were appointed as amicus curiae....