Day 14th
Summer Internship Program
Akanksha Tiwari
Amity University Gwalior Madhya Pradesh
VIP Author
Written Assignment
Date 29th july
Opinion on Public Interest Litigation (PIL)
PIL: From public interest to political interest litigation
The PILs have played a key role in strengthening the rule of law of the country and ensured that
everyone has access to justice. Anyone capable of doing so can file petitions on behalf of others
who are unable or do not have the resources to do so. But in recent times it has been observed
that certain PILs are filed just to fulfil political as well as personal vendetta.
It is a well known saying that the welfare of people is the welfare of god and the PIL which
stands for “PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION” was also conceptualized for the welfare of the
general public who were not in a position to represent themselves. The concept of PIL was
borrowed from the American jurisprudence where it was created to provide legal representation
to unrepresented groups. So PIL, or public interest litigation, can be broadly characterised as
litigation in the interest of that amorphous entity known as the general public. Who are not
capable of knocking the doors of the court for seeking justice, whatsoever the reason be. Before
the emergence of PILs, only the aggrieved party had the Locus standi and had to personally
knock on the doors of justice to seek redressal for their grievance, and no one else could do so
as a proxy for the victim or the aggrieved party and due to this, the rights guaranteed by the
Constitution of India were not benefiting a major chunk of the population because many were
not even aware of what their rights are so how can they bring claims for their infringements.
HISTORY OF PIL IN INDIA
Political and social situations changed a lot after the emergency, which was declared by the
then PM which followed lawlessness, custodial violence and many other forms of infringement
of even basic rights of the citizens and this started drawing the attention of lawyers, judges, and
various social activists and it is said that the seeds of PIL were sown by Justice Krishna Iyer in
1975 in the case of Mumbai Kamagar Sabha vs. Abdul Thai and Soon after, Justice Bhagwati’s
efforts made an impact and the concept of public interest litigation (PIL) which arose and grew
to a significant extent and for this reason, he is renowned and lauded for his contribution, further
in Fertilizer Corporation Kamgar Union v. Union of India, Krishna Iyer J. outlined the arguments
for liberalising the Locus Standi rule. The first PIL was filed( Hussainara Khatoon v. the State of
Bihar) by a news reporter based on the reports published in a newspaper and the report was
about the plight of undertrial prisoners in the state of Bihar and this PIL emerged as a landmark
judgement and The right to free, fair and speedy justice arose as a key fundamental right.
Subsequently in the case of S.P. Gupta vs. Union of India, Justice P.N. Bhagawati held that
“any member of the public or social action group acting bonafide” can invoke the Writ
Jurisdiction of the High Courts (under article 226) or the Supreme Court (under Article 32)
seeking redressal against violation of legal or constitutional rights of persons who due to social
or economic or any other disability cannot approach the Court. Justice Bhagwati went to great
lengths to ensure that the notion of PILs was well-defined. He didn’t care about procedural fine
points, and he even considered ordinary letters from public-spirited citizens as writ petitions.
The Daily Guardian
The Daily Guardian
LEGALLY SPEAKINGPIL: From public interest to political interest litigation
The PILs have played a key role in strengthening the rule of law of the country and ensured that
everyone has access to justice. Anyone capable of doing so can file petitions on behalf of others
who are unable or do not have the resources to do so. But in recent times it has been observed
that certain PILs are filed just to fulfil political as well as personal vendetta.
Published 1 year ago on June 25, 2021By Saket Sourav
It is a well known saying that the welfare of people is the welfare of god and the PIL which
stands for “PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION” was also conceptualized for the welfare of the
general public who were not in a position to represent themselves. The concept of PIL was
borrowed from the American jurisprudence where it was created to provide legal representation
to unrepresented groups. So PIL, or public interest litigation, can be broadly characterised as
litigation in the interest of that amorphous entity known as the general public. Who are not
capable of knocking the doors of the court for seeking justice, whatsoever the reason be. Before
the emergence of PILs, only the aggrieved party had the Locus standi and had to personally
knock on the doors of justice to seek redressal for their grievance, and no one else could do so
as a proxy for the victim or the aggrieved party and due to this, the rights guaranteed by the
Constitution of India were not benefiting a major chunk of the population because many were
not even aware of what their rights are so how can they bring claims for their infringements.
HISTORY OF PIL IN INDIA
Political and social situations changed a lot after the emergency, which was declared by the
then PM which followed lawlessness, custodial violence and many other forms of infringement
of even basic rights of the citizens and this started drawing the attention of lawyers, judges, and
various social activists and it is said that the seeds of PIL were sown by Justice Krishna Iyer in
1975 in the case of Mumbai Kamagar Sabha vs. Abdul Thai and Soon after, Justice Bhagwati’s
efforts made an impact and the concept of public interest litigation (PIL) which arose and grew
to a significant extent and for this reason, he is renowned and lauded for his contribution, further
in Fertilizer Corporation Kamgar Union v. Union of India, Krishna Iyer J. outlined the arguments
for liberalising the Locus Standi rule. The first PIL was filed( Hussainara Khatoon v. the State of
Bihar) by a news reporter based on the reports published in a newspaper and the report was
about the plight of undertrial prisoners in the state of Bihar and this PIL emerged as a landmark
judgement and The right to free, fair and speedy justice arose as a key fundamental right.
Subsequently in the case of S.P. Gupta vs. Union of India, Justice P.N. Bhagawati held that
“any member of the public or social action group acting bonafide” can invoke the Writ
Jurisdiction of the High Courts (under article 226) or the Supreme Court (under Article 32)
seeking redressal against violation of legal or constitutional rights of persons who due to social
or economic or any other disability cannot approach the Court. Justice Bhagwati went to great
lengths to ensure that the notion of PILs was well-defined. He didn’t care about procedural fine
points, and he even considered ordinary letters from public-spirited citizens as writ petitions.
Further In Indian Banks’ Association, Bombay & Ors. vs. M/s Devkala Consultancy Service and
Ors., the Supreme Court held that “in an appropriate case, where the petitioner may have
moved a court in her private interest and for the redressal of a personal grievance, the court in
furtherance of Public Interest may treat it as a necessity to enquire into the state of affairs of the
subject of litigation in the interstate context, the court may treat it a necessity to enquire into the
state of affairs of the subject of litigation in the interest of justice.”. 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 labour 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. These cases are just an overview of how the supreme court tried to enhance
the accessibility of justice to everyone.
USE OF PIL IN PRESENT SCENARIO
No doubt the PILs had played a key role in strengthening the rule of law of the country and It
ensured that everyone has access to justice. Anyone capable of doing so can file petitions on
behalf of others who are unable or do not have the resources to do so. But in recent times it has
been observed that certain PILs are filed just to fulfil political as well as personal vendetta.
According to Supreme Court’s bench led by Justice NV Ramana and including Justices SK Kaul
and BR Gavai the bench observed that the essence of the PIL has been forgotten since lawyers
continue to file petitions on “what they feel is possible.” The bench also observed that “This is
not public interest litigation.”
The concept of PILs has been abused by a group of self-proclaimed activists-turned-lawyers,
who want to gain influence over the elected governments and also to the opposition just to fulfil
their vested interests. Let’s recall the remarks made by Justice Chandrachud on Prashant
Bhushan in the Loya case PIL, observed “It is a travesty of justice for the resources of the legal
system to be consumed by an avalanche of misdirected petitions purportedly filed in the public
interest which, upon due scrutiny, are found to promote a personal, business or political agenda.
The idea of PIL should not be disregarded just because for reason that it had been filed by a
person of any political, corporate or personal connectivity but if any PIL is found to be frivolous
in nature then the courts should slap hefty fines along with some sanctions which will act as a
deterrent in the future and if not done so the efforts of Justices V.R. Krishna Iyer and P.N.
Bhagwati, who are accredited for opening the door of justice for all, will surely go in vain.
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