This is my research work related to public interest litigation. The information in this work are collected from various sources both from internet and books.

1. SHRI DHARMASTHALA MANJUNATHESHWARA
DEGREE COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS) ,UJIRE- 574240
ASSIGNMENT
SUBJECT : INDIA AND INDIAN CONSTITUTION
TOPIC : Public Interest Litigation
SUBMITTED TO : BHAGYASHREE MA’AM
POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
SUBMITTED BY : SAMRUDH JAIN
2ND BBA
211047

2. Public Interest Litigation
Meaning:
Public Interest Litigation (PIL) means litigation filed in a court of law, for the protection of
‘Public interest’. Any matter at which interest of the public at large is affected can be
redressed by filing a public interest litigation in a court of law such as pollution, road safety,
Constructional hazard, terrorism, etc.
 The expression ‘ public interest litigation’ is borrowed from American jurisprudence,
where it was designed to provide legal representation to previously unrepresented
groups like racial minorities, unorginized consumers, citizens who were passionate
about the environmental issues, etc.
 PIL is not defined in any statute or in any act. It has been interpreted by judges to
consider the intent of the public at large. It is the power given to the public by courts
through judicial activism. However, the person filing the petition must prove to the
court’s satisfaction that the petition is being filed for public interest and not just as a
frivolous litigation by a busty body.
 Some of the matters which are entertained under Public interest litigation are
neglected children, bonded labour matters, atrocities on women, non payment of
minimum wages to workers, exploitation of casual workers, food adulteration,
environmental pollution, and disturbance of ecological balance, maintenance of
heritage and culture, etc.
When was PIL introduced in Indian:
In India, the PIL is a product of the judicial activism role of the Supreme Court. It was
introduced in the early 1980s. Justice V R Krishna Iyer and Justice P N Bhagwati who is
called as the ‘Father of Public interest litigation in India' were the pioneers of the concept of
PIL. Public interest litigation had begun in India towards the end of the 1970s and came into
full bloom in the 1980s.
Evolution of PIL in India:
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 first reported case of PIL was Hussainara Katoon vs. State of Bihar (1979) that focused on
the inhuman conditions of prisons and under trial prisoners that led to the release of more than
40,000 under trial prisoners.
 A new era of the PIL movement was heralded by Justice P. N Bhagawati in the
case case of S. P Gupta vs Union of India.
o In this case it was held that “any member of the public or social action
group acting bonafide” can invoke the Writ Jurisdiction of the High

3. 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.
o By this judgment PIL became a potent weapon for the enforcement of
“public duties” where executive action or misdeed resulted in public
injury. And as a result any citizen of India or any consumer groups or
social action groups can now approach the apex court of the country
seeking legal remedies in all cases where the interests of general
public or a section of the public are at stake.
o Justice Bhagwati did a lot to ensure that the concept of PILs was
clearly enunciated. He did not insist on the observance of procedural
technicalities and even treated ordinary letters from public-minded
individuals as writ petitions.
A Public interest litigation is introduced in a court of law not by the aggrieved party but by a
private party or by the court itself.
 PILs have become a potent tool for enforcing the legal obligation of the executive and
the legislature.
 The chief objective behind PILs is ensuring justice to all and promoting the welfare of
the people.
 It is generally used to safeguard group interests and not individual interests, for which
Fundamental Rights have been provided.
 The Supreme Court of India and the High Courts have the right to issue PILs.
 The concept of PILs stems from the power of Judicial review.
 The concept of PILs has diluted the principle of locus standi, which implies that only
the person/party whose rights have been infringed upon can file petitions.
 It has most ideally and commonly been used to challenge the decisions of public
authorities by judicial review, to review the lawfulness of a decision or action, or a
failure to act, by a public body.
 PILs have played an important role in India’s polity. They have been responsible for
some landmark judgements in India such as the banning of the instant triple talaq,
opened up the doors of the Sabarimala and the Haji Ali shrines to women, legalised
consensual homosexual relations, legalised passive euthanasia, and so on.
Idea behind Public interest litigation:
The idea behind Public interest litigation is that, when a person or class of persons to whom
legal injury is caused, by reason of violation of a fundamental right, is unable to approach the
high court Or the Supreme Court for judicial redress on account of poverty or disability or
socially or economically disadvantaged position any member of the public or a social
organization acting bona fide in the interest of the public or a social organization acting bona
fide in the interest of public can move the high court under Article 226 of the Constitution of

4. India or in the case of violation of any fundamental right, can move the supreme Court under
article 32of the Constitution of India for relief. So, the main purpose or object of a public
interest litigation is to safeguard the public interest and to protect the constitutional or legal
rights of socially and economically disadvantaged section.
Features of Public interest litigation:
The main feature, in fact, the significant feature of public interest litigation is that it is a system
of dispensing justice without the usual requirement of the person affected alone seeking redress
from s court of law. The legal and social activists can move the court for securing relief to the
poor and deprived. Even the judges can act suo moto after reading newspaper reports or
otherwise.
Public interest litigation involves a subtle combination of Formalism that stands attached with
the judicial system, with an informalism that characterises a tribunal and /or a departmental
system. In fact, PIL avoids the formal approach to the court system. It’s initiation does not
require that a formal petition in a prescribed format and manner be presented to the Court. The
persons/agencies seeking justice can write even a postcard to the court and in case the court
considers it a fit case, it can initiate action. This is called the epistolary jurisdiction of the
higher courts.
Another innovative feature of the PIL system is that it involves the appointment of lawyers and
others to see whether the courts order has been in fact implemented or not.
They can also be appointed to carry out the required investigation into the concerned/referred
or assigned case matter.
1.Relief In PIL cases :
In PIL cases , the courts can grant relief to the aggrieved persons /groups. The nature of relief
that can be given under this system is also innovative in nature. For example, the court can
grant compensation to the sufferer in cases of murder, rape Or injury. Another significant
feature is that while the fundamental rights can be enforced only against the State, the relief
provided by the courts in Public Interest Litigation cases tends to embrace other bodies as well.
It is also held by some experts that PILcan be used by consumers and other such forums for
securing the desired relief's in a simple and efficient manner.
With these cardinal Features, the PIL has been a new and revolutionary development in our
judicial system. It has a big potential to provide justice and relief to the aggrieved public. In a
country where delay has been proverbially present as a hard and sad reality of the judicial
system, the PIL constitutes a welcome development designed to benefit millions of people who
otherwise would have not been available to them. The growing number of NGO's, who can use
the PIL system for getting relief's for the public, has enhanced the usefulness of this system
2. Possible Misuse of PIL:

5. However, along with this possibility, there are also present certain dangers. PIL can be misused
by certain unscrupulous people to suit their ends. Undue dependence on this can again be a
source of delay.
PIL can be misused or at least some people can try to misuse it for private or political ends. In
fact, some people have already tried to do so. Mr. H. Chowdhary, an advocate practising in
Delhi, filed an appeal to the special court for the quashing of the FIR and withdrawal of the
letter rogatory, which the government had issued in the Bofors case. Three political parties, the
Janata Dal, the CPM and the Indian National Congress (Socialist), also figured in the case.
When the special court did not accept the plea, they moved first the High Court and then the
Supreme Court as a public Interest Litigation plea. All the courts, however, turned down the
petition on the ground that only a person/group/body acting bona fide and having sufficient
interest in PIL could approach the Court for wiping out the sufferings of the poor and the needy.
PIL could not be used, ruled the courts, for an oblique consideration or for personal gain or
private profit. The Supreme Court further held that Mr. Chowdhry was very much concerned
with the personal and private interest of the accused in the Bofors case. It could not discover 'a
single ray' of what characterised PIL in Mr. Chowdhry's petition.
Another example of a possible attempt at misuse of PIL was offered by the petition filed by V.
Ramaswamy, whose husband Mr. Ramaswamy, a judge of the Supreme Court, was facing a
corruption charge Mrs. Ramaswamy moved in the Supreme Court a PIL petition for the
enforcement of her rights. In this case, the Honorable Supreme Court ruled that when the
aggrieved person himself did not claim any relief, no relief could be foisted on him. Both these
cases illustrate that some attempts can be made to highjack the PIL system for a private or
political gain.
3. The View of the Critics of PIL:
The critics of PIL hold that without guidelines, this system can be overstretched and used by
the courts. These can over step their limits. Another point of criticism which merits attention
is that even after securing relief under this system, the sufferers really fail to gain much because
of the poor or ineffective follow up action. For example, in the cases of bonded labourers, they
got some relief but once in the realm of freedom, they faced starvation and death. This forced
them to return to bonded labour in the name of free contract or even without a contract. Neither
the Court nor the government could provide them with follow up relief.
In addition to these limitations of the PIL system, the absence of public awareness and
knowledge about it is a major weakness of the operation of this system. The people are yet to
become aware of the scope and nature of the PIL.
4. Justification of PIL:

6. It must be admitted, however, that because of being a comparatively new system, PIL is yet to
become fully useful. It is indeed a beneficial system and has several committed and active
supporters. More and more PIL cases are being filed in the courts and more and more people
are getting benefits from this system. PIL has successfully used by several social activists in
the cases involving Asiad labourers, the inmates of a women's home in Agra, and the bonded
labourers in various parts of the country.
There have been cases in which the judges have acted suo moto for providing relief to the
general public. Several PIL activists have been using this system for securing relief to lakhs of
people. In the process, they have been spreading increasing awareness and knowledge about
PIL. They have been publishing material on the PIL system and the cases which have been
decided under it.
A veteran PIL activist Mr. HD Shourie in one of his publications "A romance with public
cause" holds that he has filed no less than 40 PIL cases and obtained relief for lakhs of people.
His efforts as well as his work deserves full appreciation. More such efforts are needed to
popularise the PIL and help the people to use this system for getting reliefs. Mr. Shourie was
in a position to secure relief for the pensioners as well as for the electricity consumers of Delhi.
For all the pensioners he secured all the benefits which the government has announced for
only those pensioners who were to retire after 1st April, 1979.The writ petition against the
Delhi Electricity Supply Undertaking (DESU) which had been sending exorbitant bills to the
consumers brought to the notice of the Court and the public that the Electricity Act provided
for an arbitrator to go into the matter and he could direct changes but for only six months and
no more. The Delhi High Court gave a decision in favour of Mr. Shourie. Such cases and efforts
of such activists can go a long way towards the successful operation of the PIL.
Public Interest Litigation, as already pointed out, is relatively a new branch of law and it is a
new approach to justice and judicial relief against public sufferings. The system has yet to
develop fully. Several clarifications and guidelines have emerged during the past four decades
of it's working. However, all aspects of PIL are yet to be totally cleared. The Public is yet to be
aware of the reach and extent of this new innovative branch of law and justice.
In one of his articles, New Legal Horizons, Mr. S. Sahay discusses at length the merits and
potentialities of the PIL. He beautifully remarks:"All things considered, if the seventies and
eighties were the period of the evolution of PIL, the nineties should be the period of
consolidation in which judicious and effective use of PIL should be attempted. There is no
doubt that the PIL has opened new horizons for the poor and the deprived".
Indeed PIL offers increased opportunities for the people to secure the needed relief against acts
of commission and omission on the part of the government and other decision makers. It

7. constitutes a useful and much needed addition to the Indian Judicial System. Since February
1994,the International Institute of Public Interest Litigation has been at work in India. It enjoys
the full support and bscking of the legal luminaries as well as the judges of the Indian Supreme
Court and High Courts. This Institute is a platform for popularising PIL in India. PIL has now
come to be an active and important part of the process of judicial activism in India. While the
power of guaranteeing the fundamental rights through dependence upon article 32 and 226 of
the Constitution as well as by the use of the system of judicial review constitute strong judicial
weapons in the armoury of the Indian Judiciary, the system of PIL constitutes an additional
leverage with the judiciary for ensuring speedy relief to the poor and the deprived and in the
process to discharge it's social responsibilities through judicial activism.
Where Are PILs Filed?
Unlike other cases where you have to first file an FIR at the police station and then proceed to
judicial enquiry, a PIL has to filed directly at the court. There is no need for an FIR in this
instance. Albeit, it must be noted that PILs are usually filed at the high court.
Procedure For Filing A PIL?
The procedure for filing a PIL is as follows:
1. Before filing a PIL one has to do the complete research about the issue. When a PIL is filed
concerning many people, the petitioner needs to consult all the individuals and groups which
are affected.
2. Once you are sure of filing a PIL, collect all the vital information and documents as evidence
to support your case. You can argue the case on your own or appoint a lawyer to argue on
behalf of you.
3. It is always advisable to consult a lawyer before filing the PIL. If you are interested in arguing
the case on your own then be prepared to explain the problem and convince the court in the
time you have been allotted.

8. 4. Once the PIL copy is ready to be filed in the High Court, then submit two copies of the
petition to the court. Along with this, one copy of the petition needs to be served to the
respondents in advance. This proof of serving the petition copy to the respondents has to be
affixed in the petition.
5. If the PIL is filed in the Supreme Court, then five copies of the petition need to be submitted
to the court. Respondent is served with the petition copy when the court issues the notice
regarding the same.
Supreme Court Guidelines:
Supreme Court of India has laid down certain guidelines that are to be followed for
entertaining letters/petitions received in the court as Public Interest Litigation.
Areas covered under Public Interest Litigation
Letter-petitions falling under the following categories alone will ordinarily be entertained as
Interest Litigation:
1.Bonded Labour matters
2.Neglected Children
3.Labour law matters dealing especially with minimum wages
4.Petitions against police for refusing to register a case, harassment by police and death in
police custody
5.Petitions dealing with harassment to SCs and STs and economically backward classes

9. 6.Prison and Prisoners' conditions
7.Petitions relating to treatment to women
8.Petitions pertaining to environmental protection
9.Petitions from riot-victims
10.Family Pension
Areas not covered under Public Interest Litigation
Cases falling under the following categories will not be entertained as Public Interest
Litigation:
1.Landlord-Tenant matters
2.Service matter and those pertaining to Pension and Gratuity
3.Complaints against Central/State Government Departments and Local Bodies except those
relating to item Nos. (1) to (10) above.
4.Admission to medical and other educational institution
5.Petitions for early hearing of cases pending in High Courts and Subordinate Courts

10. Importance of PIL:
1. PIL empowers individuals to exercise their rights and obtain justice for any wrongs.
2. Citizens have the authority to file petitions and take part in the administration of justice in a
participatory democracy. Because there is only a small fixed court cost associated with this, it
is less expensive than the standard process.
3. PIL supports the protection of a section, community, or group of people in comparable
circumstances. For example, the SC prohibited private corporations from leasing forest and
tribal land to others in the Samatha case in Andhra Pradesh.
4. Justice is made more democratic by allowing any individual or group with the necessary
resources to submit petitions on behalf of those who are unable to or lack the means to do so.
For example, an ordinary citizen named Parmanand Katara brought up the problem of hospitals
refusing to treat accident victims to the SC.
5. Through the judicial review, decisions made by a public authority may be contested. For
instance, in the Shreya Singhal case, the SC overturned arrests made under Section 66A of the
IT Act for publishing content online.
6. It aids in creating the checks and balances necessary to redress any improper executive or
legislative Accountability of the government and can be used to enforce the wrongdoer’s legal
responsibility.
7. Litigants can concentrate and produce results concerning significant societal issues.
8. It assists the judiciary in monitoring and keeping an eye on institutions for the elderly,
orphanages, and prisons. Example: In the Hussainara Khatoon case, the court released
defendants who had already spent the maximum amount of time allowed for their offense.
Issues with the PIL:

11. 1. Petitions without a significant issue waste the time of the courts and prolonged delays in PIL
case resolution may reduce many leading judgments to purely academic status.
2. The judiciary is going beyond the scope of its authority and is unable to monitor how well
its directives are being carried out.
3. In some cases, the court showed its unwillingness to take on legislative duties; in others, it
provided specific instructions for formulating policy. It has been observed that PILs are given
higher priority than lengthy standing cases.
4. The Judiciary already has a heavy caseload due to pending cases, and PIL petitions add to
that. instead of championing public causes, PIL is being abused by those pushing for personal
grievances, and thus from public interest litigation, it has become private interest litigation.
5. Political parties frequently file petty petitions to get political attention. A decision on one
topic may have a substantial impact on the rights of another group. For example, the livelihood
of employees may be impacted by the decision to close a polluting industry.
Conclusion:
A PIL is an important judicial tool especially for the protection of rights of those who are
unable to approach the Court themselves. They are one of the most commonly used form of
litigation, especially in the environment cases. The courts have tried to rules regarding PLI
simpler so as to not not to discourage the filing of PIL's in public interest and on behalf of the
poor, disabled or deprived classes of persons. However there are several instance in which
people have tried to further their own private interests under the guise of PIL's. Thus courts
must remain extremely cautious to ensure that PIL are not misused.
Even though it is very much essential to curb misuse and abuse of any move by the government
to regulate the PLI results in widespread protests from those who are not aware of it’s abuse
and equate any firm of regulation with erosion of their fundamental rights. Under these
circumstances the Supreme Court of India is required to step in by incorporating safe guards
provided by the civil procedure code in matters of stay orders / injunctions in the arena of PLI.

12. Reference:
Sl. No Name of the book Author Page no
1 Constitution of
India, and
Human Rights
and Environment
B. S. Ramn 169-175
2 Indian
Constitution and
politics
K. K. Ghai 312-320
3 Public Interest
litigation
Sampat Jain
Dr. LM Singhvi
4,6, 14- 24
Web reference: https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/public-interest-litigation-pil/