Examine the importance of ‘Public Interest Litigation’ (PIL) in India.
Answers
the games which are more popular to play like cricket ,badminton , table tennis ,wrestling etc.
The Public Interest Litigation movement in India was further heralded in the case SP Gupta v. Union of India, also known by the moniker – ‘The Judges Transfer case’, the judgement of which was delivered by Justice PN Bhagwati. It was held in this case that, any member of the society/public acting bonafide can file a writ petition in any High Court or the Supreme Court to seek redressal against violation of a legal/constitutional right. As a result of this judgement, PIL became a potent tool for the deprived section/class of the society when the right(s) of the society or a group of individuals are compromised by the government resulting in public injury. A PIL can be filed not only by a group of people collectively but also by any individual directly/indirectly connected or even not connected to the cause or they can be represented by an advocate.
Meaning and Definition
As defined in the Black’s Law Dictionary, PIL means “a legal action initiated in a court of law for the enforcement of certain rights that are in the interest of the public where the class of community may or may not have a pecuniary interest or any other interest by which their legal rights are affected”.
Concept of Public Interest Litigation
Under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution, only the aggrieved individual has the right to file a writ in the Supreme Court. Article 32 of our Constitution confers right upon an individual to move to the apex court by appropriate proceedings for the enforcement of rights/duties under the constitution.
Writ Jurisdiction under the Constitution of India
A PIL can be filed in the apex court under article 32 of the constitution or before the High Court under Article 226 of the constitution.
Subjects of Public Interest Litigation
The below-mentioned subjects may be litigated under the head of PIL
Matters pertaining to the public interest which generally include and not limited to the following issues:
Petitions from the riot victims;
Environmental pollution, ecological imbalance;
Food adulteration, preservation of heritage, culture, forests and wildlife;
Exploitation of economically and socially downtrodden sections of the society (Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes etc);
Welfare of children;
Other matters related to public interest.
Admission related issues to colleges/universities of national importance. (Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management, National Law Universities, to name a few);
Service-related matters;
Landlord-Tenant matters;
Threat/intimidation of the petitioner(s) by private individuals.
Petitions can be filed by letters and even electronically as well online or by simply writing an E-mail addressed to the Chief Justice of India. Petitions that are not of public interest can also be treated as writ petitions subject to the discretion of the Judge of the Supreme Court/High Court concerned. Such matters may include but are not limited to the following:
Police torture;
Kidnapping;
Offences related to Women/Children;
Petition regarding Pensions;
Petition regarding refusal of the law enforcement to file FIR(s)
Procedure for filing a Public Interest Litigation
The modus operandi for filing a PIL can be divided into two ways:
Filing: A PIL is filed in the same manner as a writ petition is filed either in the Supreme Court (Article 32) or in the High Court (Article 226). If the PIL is to be filed in the High Court, then two copies of the petition have to be filed and if the PIL is to be filed in the Supreme Court, then the petition has to be filed in five sets (4+1). Also, it is imperative to serve an advance copy of the petition on each respondent/opposite party and the proof of having served the copy of the petition to the respondent(s) has to be affixed with the petition – that can be in the form of postal or courier receipts.
The Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), government enterprises, government institutions, Government agencies come within the ambit of Article 12 of the constitution. In Electricity Board, Rajasthan v. Mohan Lal, the apex court held that ‘other authorities’ include all the institutions/authorities that are created by the Indian constitution and upon whom powers are conferred by law. A ‘private party’ can be made a ‘respondent’ only when the state is made a party to it.