Public Interest Litigation(PIL) In India - Notes On PIL!

Tabel Of Content

1. What is Public Interest Litigation
2. Relevancy Of PIL Through Most Important Court Cases
3. Procedure to File PIL 
4. Factors Responsible For The Growth of PIL
5. Steps Needed To Enhance The Utility and Relevance

 

What is Public Interest Litigation

Public interest Litigation (PIL) means litigation filed in a court of law, for the protection of “Public Interest”, such as Pollution, Terrorism, Road safety, Constructional hazards etc. Any matter where the interest of the public at large is affected can be redressed by filing a Public Interest Litigation in a court of law. The seeds of the concept of public interest litigation were initially sown in India by Justice Krishna Iyer, in 1976 in Mumbai Kamagar Sabha vs. Abdul Thai. The essential details that all must know in relation to the PIL are mentioned below:

1. Public interest litigation is not defined in any statute or in any act. 
2. Public interest litigation can be filed by any concerned citizen. 
3. The concept has its origination in American Jurisprudence.
4. The Supreme Court of India Derives its authority to take up PIL through - Article 32 of the constitution.

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Some of the matters which are entertained under PIL are:

• Bonded Labour matters
• Neglected Children
• Non-payment of minimum wages to workers and exploitation of casual workers
• Atrocities on women
• Environmental pollution and disturbance of ecological balance
• Food adulteration
• Maintenance of heritage and culture

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Relevancy Of PIL Through Most Important Court Cases

The relevancy can be best judged through the impact that the PIL has had on society. The most important landmark cases related to the PIL are mentioned below:

Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan

As part of a governmental campaign against child marriage, Bhanwari Devi attempted to stop the marriage of a one-year-old girl in rural Rajasthan. Members of the local community retaliated first by harassing Bhanwari Devi with threats and imposing a socio-economic boycott on her family. Then, on September 22, 1992, five men raped Bhanwari Devi. In he landmark case the court laid down the guidelines for women security and safety, that were later incorporated into the various cats for women safety.

Javed v. the State of Haryana

The Javed litigants challenged the constitutionality of a coercive population control provision, which governed the election of the panchayat. The court struck down the discrimination on the basis of education.

Khatoon v. State of Bihar

Many have regarded this case as the first PIL in India as well. In this case, the attention of the Court focussed on the incredible situation of under-trials in Bihar who had been in detention pending trial for periods far in excess of the maximum sentence for their offences. The Court not only proceeded to make the right to a speedy trial the central issue of the case, but passed the order of general release of close to 40,000 under-trials who had undergone detention beyond such a maximum period.

MC Mehta

The judgement delivered on January 12, 1988 lashed out at civic authorities for allowing untreated sewage from Kanpur’s tanneries to make its way into the Ganges.

The Supreme Court in Indian Banks’ Association, Bombay & Ors. vs. M/s Devkala Consultancy Service and Ors held :- “In an appropriate case, where the petitioner might have moved a court in her private interest and for redressal of the personal grievance, the court in furtherance of Public Interest may treat it a necessity to enquire into the state of affairs of the subject of litigation in the interest of justice.” Thus, a private interest case can also be treated as public interest case.

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Procedure to File PIL in India

Any Indian citizen or organisation can move the court for a public interest/cause by filing a petition:

1. In the SC under Article 32
2. In the High Courts under Article 226

The court can treat a letter as a writ petition and take action on it. The court has to be satisfied that the writ petition complies with the following: the letter is addressed by the aggrieved person or a public-spirited individual or a social action group for the enforcement of legal or constitutional rights to any person who, upon poverty or disability, are not able to approach the court for redress. The court can also take action on the basis of newspaper reports if it is satisfied with the case.

 

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Factors Responsible for the Growth of PIL in India

• The character of the Indian Constitution. India has a written constitution which through Part III (Fundamental Rights) and Part IV (Directive Principles of State Policy) provides a framework for regulating relations between the state and its citizens and between citizens inter-se.
• India has some of the most progressive social legislations to be found anywhere in the world whether it be relating to bonded labor, minimum wages, land ceiling, environmental protection, etc. This has made it easier for the courts to haul up the executive when it is not performing its duties in ensuring the rights of the poor as per the law of the land.
• The liberal interpretation of locus standi where any person can apply to the court on behalf of those who are economically or physically unable to come before it has helped. Judges themselves have in some cases initiated suo moto action based on newspaper articles or letters received.
• Although social and economic rights given in the Indian Constitution under Part IV are not legally enforceable, courts have creatively read these into fundamental rights thereby making them judicially enforceable. For instance the "right to life" in Article 21 has been expanded to include right to free legal aid, right to live with dignity, right to education, right to work, freedom from torture, bar fetters and hand cuffing in prisons, etc.
• Judicial innovations to help the poor and marginalised: For instance, in the Bandhua Mukti Morcha, the Supreme Court put the burden of proof on the respondent stating it would treat every case of forced labor as a case of bonded labor unless proven otherwise by the employer. Similarly in the Asiad Workers judgment case, Justice P.N. Bhagwati held that anyone getting less than the minimum wage can approach the Supreme Court directly without going through the labor commissioner and lower courts.
• In PIL cases where the petitioner is not in a position to provide all the necessary evidence, either because it is voluminous or because the parties are weak socially or economically, courts have appointed commissions to collect information on facts and present it before the bench.

 

Steps Needed To Enhance The Utility and Relevance

As per the direction of Supreme court following procedure should be followed: 

• verifying the credentials of the petitioner before entertaining the plea

• checking the correctness of the contents

• ensuring the petition involves issues of “larger public interest, gravity and urgency” which requires priority

•  ensuring there is no personal gain, private motive or oblique motive behind the PIL petition

•  ensuring that it is aimed at redressal of genuine public harm or public injury.

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