The Constitution of India confers several rights to its citizens in order to ensure justice and equality among the people and Public Interest Litigation- PIL is one of such rights conferred to the public to ensure social justice. The introduction of Public Interest Litigation, popularly known as PIL is a revolution in the Indian Judicial system to remove the miseries of public through judicial activism, irrespective of caste, creed, gender and religion. Despite the fact that there are many laws and rights that has been guaranteed by the Indian Constitution to its citizens for their protection; however, most people are unaware of the laws and their rights for justice. PIL is one such law of India about which most people are unaware. It is first important to known what exactly PIL is, its origin and development, requisites for filing PIL and its benefits. What is Public Interest Litigation (PIL)? Public Interest Litigation does not have a definition, but in broad terms, it can be defined as litigation for the protection of public interest. The term has been coined in the Oxford English Dictionary as "a legal action including all proceedings therein, initiated in a court of law with the purpose of enforcing a right or seeking a remedy." Hence, the term or rather the expression means “any litigation conducted for the benefit of public or for removal of some public grievance." In general terms, PIL means that any person can approach the court for the benefit of the general public by filing a petition either in the Supreme Court under Article 32, in the High Court under Article 226 of the Indian Constitution or in the Court of Magistrate under Section 133 of the Criminal Procedure Code 1973. History and Development of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) The concept of Public Interest Litigation was coined by Justice Krishna Iyer, in 1976 in Mumbai Kamagar Sabha vs. Abdul Thai (AIR 1976 SC 1455; 1976 (3) SCC 832) and it was further developed by Justice P. N. Bhagwati, who took up a PIL case in the court for the first time. The milestone case of Hussaianra Khatoon vs. State of Bihar (1979) which was filed through an Advocate, based on the newspaper article published in Indian Express of the adversity of under trial prisoners of Bihar prison and a judgment was pronounced by then Justice PN Bhagwati recognized the right of speedy trial and justice. With this case, Public Interest Litigation came into the limelight and opened the minds of the people. After this milestone case, there were many more cases that flooded the court, which were in the interest of public welfare. It was also stated that anyone can approach the courts in case of infringement of fundamental rights by the government and file a PIL petition in the court of law under the given sections. Relation between Public Interest Litigation and Judicial Activism Public Interest Litigation and Judicial Activism are two sides of the same coin. PIL is the outcome of judicial activism, and acts as an instrument of providing justice to the ignorant, backward, uneducated and poor people. PIL in India is one the major step forward in providing social justice to the people. Its introduction has given a new dimension to the judicial system of the country and has also strengthened judicial activism. Justice Krishna Iyer enumerated some reasons for liberalization of the rule of Locus Standi in the Fertilizer Corporation Kamgar Union vs. Union of India, (1981) case. These reasons were: Exercise of State power to eradicate corruption may result in unrelated interference with individuals’ rights. Restrictive rules of standing are antithesis to a healthy system of administrative action. “Activism is essential for participative public justice”. Social justice wants liberal judicial review administrative action. Who can file a PIL petition? A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) can be filed in any High Court or directly in the Supreme Court for any matters of public interest ranging from polluted environments to road safety or constructional hazards. This can be filed by any citizen of India for a public cause or to remove any kind of injustice. The Hon’ble Courts of law has ruled out that “No petition involving individual/ personal matter shall be entertained as a PIL matter except as indicated hereinafter.” Letter-petitions falling under the following categories alone will ordinarily be entertained as Public Interest Litigation: Bonded Labour matters Neglected Children Non-payment of minimum wages to workers and exploitation of casualworkers and complaints of violation of Labour Laws (except in individualcases) Petitions from jails complaining of harassment, for (pre-mature release)*and seeking release after having completed 14 years in jail, death in jail, transfer, release on personal bond, speedy trial as a fundamental right Petitions against police for refusing to register a case, harassment by police and death in police custody Petitions against atrocities on women, in particular harassment of bride, bride-burning, rape, murder, kidnapping etc. Petitions complaining of harassment or torture of villagers by co- villagers or by police from persons belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes and economically backward classes. Petitions pertaining to environmental pollution, disturbance of ecological balance, drugs, food adulteration, maintenance of heritage and culture, antiques, forest and wild life and other matters of public importance Petitions from riot -victims Family Pension Those whose petition falls under these will be treated as a PIL case. However, All letter-petitions received in the PIL Cell will first be screeed in the Cell and only such petitions as are covered by the above mentioned categories will be placed before a Judge to be nominated by Hon'ble the Chief Justice of India for directions after which the case will be listed before the Bench concerned. It is important to note that If on scrutiny of a letter petition, it is found that the same is not covered under the PIL guidelines and no public interest is involved, then the same may be lodged only after the approval from the Registrar nominated by the Hon'ble the Chief Justice of India. Moreover, a writ petition can as well be filed under these categories for Public Interest Litigation. One of the important highlights of PIL is that it does not necessitate a lawyer and can be filed by any conscious citizen or an organization like NGO to provide social justice to the public as well as for their welfare. How to file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) There are certain requirements while filing a PIL petition in any of the courts as mentioned above. If you are filing PIL in High Court, then two copies of the petition have to be filed. Also, an advance copy of the petition has to be given to the opposing party. If you are filing a PIL in the Supreme Court, then five sets of petition have to be filed. The opposite party is served the copy only when notice is issued. A PIL may be filed like a written petition or like any other case in the court. The judge may appoint a commissioner, to inspect allegations, in the middle of the case. After filing of replies, by opposite party, and rejoinder by the petitioner, final hearing takes place, and the judge gives his final decision. Advantages of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) The overarching aim of the Indian Legal system was to bring about social justice in India and with the advent of Public Interest Litigation, it has been witnessed that it has proved as an efficient and effective method of achieving the object. It has also facilitated an effective comprehension of group, diffused rights for which individual litigation is neither practicable nor an efficient method. Public Interest Litigation comes with a lot of advantages. In Public Interest Litigation (PIL) vigilant citizens of the country can find an inexpensive legal remedy because there is only a nominal fixed court fee involved in this. Further, through PIL, the litigants can focus attention on and achieve results pertaining to larger public issues, especially in the fields of human rights, consumer welfare and environment.
Need for PIL awareness Despite of the far-reaching developments in the field of Public Interest Litigation, even after so many years of its introduction, it is still not known by many people in our country. Owing to the negligence regarding their rights as citizens of this nation, the success of Public Interest Litigation is still a question mark. Moreover, during its commencement, many NGO’s which were working for the welfare of the poor, uneducated, backward and underprivileged people have filed PIL petitions in the court of law to provide social justice but off late, it has been witnessed that even the NGO’s are more keen in making money rather than working for the welfare of the society. In addition, due to lack of adequate information people do not want to approach the court with the fear of involvement of huge amount of money. However, PIL does not involve much expenses and it is an easy way to get justice. In order to provide social justice to the people, especially the once who are poor and underprivileged, it is highly essential to create awareness regarding Public Interest Litigation. This can be done by educating the people about their rights that are conferred to them by the Constitution of India. They should be made aware that any infringement of their fundamental rights by the government can be brought to the court under PIL for speedy justice. For a better and developed society, it is very important to create awareness among the people of India to fight for their rights and especially for Public Interest Litigation.
