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PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION

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Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is a rightgiven to members of the public to

maintain an action for judicial redressal of public injury; such an injury may

arise from breach of public duty or due to a violation of some provision of

the Constitution

Public Interest Litigation is basically meant for enforcement of fundamental

and other legal rights of the people who are poor, weak, ignorant of legal

redressal system or otherwise in a disadvantageous position, due to their

social or economic background.

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Any public-spirited person can file a Public Interest Litigation case (PIL)

on behalf of a group of persons, whose rights or entitlements are affected

It is not necessary that the person filing a case should have a direct interestor involvement in the matter of litigation

A person in Mumbai can file a Public Interest Litigation for malnutrition

deaths in Orissa or protection of environment in Tamil Nadu

Public Interest Litigation is not defined in any statute or act. It has been

interpreted by judges to consider and examine the intent of public at large

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public injury and public wrong caused by acts or omissions

of various state agencies or other constituted public

authorities

sufficient cause for enforcement fundamental and

constitutional rights of disadvantaged and poor people

violation of rights transcending limits of private concern,

vested interest and ulterior individual motif

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Agencies, departments and constituted bodies ofstate and central

governments and not private parties and non-governmental

organizations/institutions

A Private party can be included in a PIL as a Respondent, after making

the concerned state authority a party

As in the case of a private factory in Delhi, causing pollution, people living

in its vicinity or any other person can file a PIL against the Government of

India, the State Pollution Board, making the private factory a respondent

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Introduction of the Due Process clause to expand

fundamental nights in India

The subservient and deferential role of the Supreme Court

of India during the Emergency period in the late 1970s

Interference of the Executive in judicial appointments

Post emergency radical interpretations of Articles 32 and226 of the Constitution of India wherein filing of PILs got

legitimized for effective assertion of constitutionally

guaranteed rights

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Salient Features

Access and Standing

Procedural rules relaxed

Appointment of citizens as investigators / fact finders

Non adversarial approach

No financial burden on petitioners

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Boon

Citizens have an inexpensive legal remedy to public issuesconcerning human rights , consumer and environmental

protection Bane

Increase in filing of frivolous cases with an intent to strikedeals with the victims of stay orders

People filing PILs which are based on private interestsdisguised as public interests

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PILs can be filed in a High Court or in the Supreme

Court, depending on the Nature of Case

Proceedings are conducted in the same manner as inother normal litigations

Judges may constitute inquiry commissions to

investigate claims made in a PIL

Even a letter or a report deemed to have depicted

real-life issues can be used to initiate a PIL

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PIL signifies a paradigm of legal justice which locates thecontent of informal justice within the formal justice deliverysystem..Non Anglo-Saxon jurisdiction induces courts totranscend the traditional judicial function of adjudication

and provide remedies for social wrongs

The systemic impact of public interest litigation is notnecessarily or directly related to its success in court.....the

litigation process may also have palpable impacts on publicdiscourse and policy

Judgements and investigations relating to PILs generatefar-reaching socio-political inputs for civil society campaigns

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Rural Litigation & Entitlement Kendra vs. State of U.P

Stoppage of mining operations which were leading toenvironmental damage

Vellore Citizens' Welfare Forum vs. Union of India

Tanneries discharging toxic wastes in Palar river wereendangering the health of the residents and these were askedto shut down

Closing down a plant causing extensive air pollution andreopening it subject to extensive terms and conditions

Imposing strict deadlines on hotels operating late in the night

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MC Mehtas PIL(1985) for unleaded petrol won reliefonly in 2001 because of the involvement of a mighty

public sector company.Still 2 out of 7 IOC refineries

produce leaded fuel..Public vigilance is the need ofthe hour

Full impacts of judgments on crucial issues of noise

pollution like the use of fire-crackers and loud-speakersare yet to be realized due to lack of awareness and

sensitization

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A PIL pointed out that Taj Mahal was facing a threatfrom pollution caused by the factories situated

nearby causing erosion of the exterior white marble

Supreme Court banned the use of coke and coal in

the surrounding industries

The pollution in the area was substantially reducedresulting in environmental conservation

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Strategic Areas of PILs Impact

Human Rights of the vulnerable

Economic , social and cultural rights

Police accountability

Issues relating to environmental degradation

Accountability of public authorities

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Over-extensive reliance on court-appointed commissions ofenquiry....allegations of bias and partial evidence gathering .

Problems arising out of alleged dubiousness, preference and unfair dealingsof judges, legal practitioners and para-legal court functionariesProblem of backlogs and delays caused by lack of infrastructure and humanresources

The frequency of PIL cases in the Supreme Court and the High Courts increasedas claimants and their lawyers learned how to take advantage of the more liberal

procedures

Courts saw that public interest litigants and their lawyers were dressing upprivate disputes in the name of PIL

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Courts exceeding their institutional capacity; reversingconstitutional priorities, usurping both legislative andadministrative functions.

While PIL has been partly institutionalized, it remainsdependent on personal orientations of individual judges

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Striking a balance between allowing legitimate PILs anddiscouraging the frivolous ones

Preventive measures like building in economic

disincentives and confining PILs primarily to cases where

access to justice is undermined by some kind of disability

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