This ppt is about Constitution provisions of public interest litigation

1. PUBLIC INTEREST
LITGATION
Presented by Kunal Patil | Riya Pandey | Vipul Vaibhav
Constitutional Law - 1

2. CONTENT
Task Name
Task Name
01 02
03 04
PIL - INTRODUCTION PIL IN INDIA
LANDMARK CASES CONCLUSION

3. The expression ‘Public Interest Litigation’ has been
borrowed from American jurisprudence, where it
was designed to provide legal representation to
previously unrepresented groups like the poor, the
racial minorities, unorganised consumers, citizens
who were passionate about the environmental
issues, etc.
Public interest litigation is not defined in any statute
or in any act. It has been interpreted by judges to
consider the intent of public at large.
PIL - INTRODUCTION

4. Public interest litigation is the power given to the
public by courts through judicial activism.
However, the person filing the petition must prove
to the satisfaction of the court that the petition is
being filed for a public interest and not just as a
frivolous litigation by a busy body.
The court can itself take cognizance of the matter
and proceed suo motu or cases can commence on
the petition of any public spirited individual.

5. 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
Khatoon 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.
PIL IN INDIA

6. A new era of the PIL movement was heralded by
Justice P.N. Bhagawati in the case of S.P. Gupta vs.
Union of India.
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 Courts
(under article 226) or the Supreme Court (under
Article 32).

7. Who can file PIL and
Against Whom?
Who
Against
Whom
Any citizen can file a public case by
filing a petition:
Under Art 32 of the Indian
Constitution, in the Supreme Court.
Under Art 226 of the Indian
Constitution, in the High Court.
Under sec. 133 of the Criminal
Procedure Code, in the Court of
Magistrate.
A Public Interest Litigation can be
filed against a State/ Central
Govt., Municipal Authorities, and
not any private party.
It can be filed against the state
defined in Art. 12 of the Indian
Constitution.

8. This one was the first and most well-known case of PIL in
India..
In this PIL case, the court’s attention was brought to the
extraordinary circumstance of Bihar’s undertrials,
Who had been held in custody pending trial for lengths
well in excess of the maximum term for the offenses they
were charged with.
The court proceeded to make the right to a speedy trial
the main issue in the case and issued order for the general
release of the awaiting prisoners.
Landmark Cases
Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar (1979)

9. This case has been referred to as “groundbreaking,” “one
of the most powerful legacies” of the PIL case, and a
“trendsetter” that “caused a revolution.”
It was held that sexual harassment is a “clear violation” of
the fundamental constitutional rights to equality non-
discrimination, life, and liberty as well as the freedom to
engage in any occupation.
It also has a description of the complaint procedures that
needed to be “strictly observed in all workplaces. it should
be done for the preservation and enforcement of the right
to gender equality.”
Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan(1997)

10. The judgment delivered on January 12, 1988, criticized the
local government for permitting untreated sewage from
Kanpur’s tanneries to enter the Ganges.
More than 250 towns and localities have been told to build
sewage treatment plants in this case, in addition to the
industries.
The directions given this case, have prevented the
consequences of air and water pollution on millions of
people in the Ganga basin.
M.C. Mehta vs. Union of India(1988)

11. Human rights advocate Parmanand Katara petitioned the
Supreme Court with a writ on the basis of a newspaper article
about the death of a scooterist who was hit by a speeding
car.
The Supreme Court ruled in this PIL
Life preservation is of the greatest priority.
Every doctor has a duty to extend their services with the
expertise for life protection. Whether they work in a
government institution or not.
There should be no question that the effort to save the
person should be given first priority.
Parmanand Katara vs. Union of India(1989)

12. Conclusion
The greatest contribution of PIL has been to enhance the accountability
of the governments towards the human rights of the poor.
The PIL develops a new jurisprudence of the accountability of the state
for constitutional and legal violations adversely affecting the interests of
the weaker elements in the community.
However, the Judiciary should be cautious enough in the application of
PILs to avoid Judicial Overreach that are violative of the principle of
Separation of Power.
Besides, the frivolous PILs with vested interests must be discouraged to
keep its workload manageable.

13. THANK YOU