Public Interest Litigation: Meaning, Features, Importance of PIL in India

What is PIL?

Public Interest Litigation first originated in the United States of America in the 1960s. In the USA, it was designed to provide privileges to underrepresented groups and provide them with legal representation.

• In India, Public Interest Litigation was introduced by Justice VR Krishnan Iyer and Justice PN Bhagwati in the 1980s.
• PIL is also called SAL (Social Action Litigation), SIL (Social Interest Litigation), and CAL (Class Action Litigation).

Public Interest Litigation Notes PDF

Public Interest Litigation In India is a form of Judicial activism where the judiciary is used to promote human rights and equality.

Public Interest Litigation in India

Anyone can file the PIL in the Supreme Court of India under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution, the High Courts of India under Act 226 of the Indian Constitution, and the District Court under Act 133 of the Indian Constitution.

• Before filing the PIL, it should be considered that it fulfills the basic requirements of a letter by the aggrieved person. The aggrieved person should be a public-spirited individual or someone who, on behalf of a community, cannot approach the court for addressing.
• Public interest litigation can be easily found against the municipal authorities and governments ruling the state or center. However, it cannot be filed against any private party.

The Supreme Court of India formed a certain set of guidelines in 2003 that are words to be considered as the petitions or letters that follow under the categories mentioned below will be entertained as Public Interest Litigation. –

• Matters pertaining to bonded labours.

• Children who are neglected.

• Non-payment of minimum wages to the workers.
• The exploitation of the casual workers and complaints of the violations of the labour laws.

• Filing petitions against the police for denying to register a case.

• Harassment by the police or death in police custody.

• Petitions pertaining to the complaints of harassment of villagers by other co-villagers or by the police.

• Petitions filed by victims of riots.

• Pension of the family.

There are also specific lists of cases that cannot be considered for filing Public Interest Litigation. These are:

• Landlords and tenants’ matters

• Complaints against the central or state government departments and local bodies.

• Regarding student admission to medical or other educational institutions.

• Petitions for early hearing of cases pending in the High Courts and sub-courts

History of Public Interest Litigation India

The PIL in India began with the first case, which was Hussainara Khatoon vs the State of Bihar in 1979, where almost 40,000 undertrials were released from Patna Jail. The SC bench headed by Justice P N Bhagwati supported that prisoners have access to free legal aid and speedy hearing.

Due to the success of this Public Interest Litigation in India, the lawyer Hingorani is called the ‘Mother of PILs’. Although Hingorani had no locus standi in the case, the court permitted her to pursue the case as a PIL.

Other cases related to PIL in Administrative Law and other matters are:

• People’s Union for Democratic Rights vs Union of India
• DC Wadhwa vs State of Bihar (1986)
• MC.Mehta vs Union of India(1988) to prevent water pollution in Ganga.
• Shreya Singhal vs Union of India related to freedom of speech.

Features of PIL

Public Interest Litigation is a government tool that helps bring justice to that mass of society in the low visibility area of humanity. The following are the features of Public Interest Litigation:

• Public Interest Litigation is an entirely different concept from the ordinary litigation process, where two parties fight against each other by filing complaints opposing and resisting each other for relief.

• The process of filing Public Interest Litigation does not work for any individual person, but it promotes and vindicates the public interest.

• The demand of Public Interest Litigation is that whichever section of society is left behind that is economically disadvantaged or ignored at the last level should not go unaddressed or unnoticed.

• In Public Interest Litigation, the role played by the courts is more assertive than in any other traditional legal action.

• There is no determination on the adjudication of single-person rights in Public Interest Litigation, as there is in the traditional dispute resolution mechanism.

Guidelines for Public Interest Litigation in India

With the advent of Public Interest Litigation in the knowledge of the common people, it has become an increasingly important field in the administration of law. PIL in Administrative Law is a very sensitive matter, and it should not be spoofed with private or political interest litigation.

Therefore, to avoid such things, the Supreme Court of India has observed that “Public Interest Litigation” is not a pill for all the wrongs. It was meant to protect the basic human rights of the weak and disadvantaged. It was a procedure that was innovated where a public-spirited person files a petition in effect on behalf of such persons who, on account of poverty, helplessness, or economic and social disabilities, could not approach the court for relief. So, there is a need to re-emphasise the parameters within which PIL can be resorted to by a petitioner and entertained by the court if you don’t mind.

The Supreme Court of India has laid down specific guidelines to be followed for filing and avoiding the misuse of PIL.

1. The code should encourage bonafide PIL and discourage the PIL fields for extraneous considerations.
2. Instead of each judge developing their procedure for dealing with PILs, it would be ideal for each High Court to establish rules to encourage genuine PIL filing and remove PILs filed with oblique motives.
3. The concerned code should, first of all, verify the credentials of the petitioner before proceeding with the filed Public Interest Litigation.
4. Before entertaining and proceeding with the hearing for PIL, the court should be satisfied with the correctness of the petition’s content.
5. Also, the code should be completely satisfied that the public interest is involved in the field petition of PIL.

Strengths and Weaknesses of PIL

PIL is a vital instrument that helps to upgrade the marginalised section of society by providing them with legal assistance. There are particular strengths and weaknesses of PIL.

Strength and Importance of PIL In India

Public interest litigation allows the common people access to India’s higher and supreme courts. PIL helps to maintain the rule of law and fosters the balance between the law and Justice.

• The prime and important function of public interest litigation is to provide access to justice to every marginalised section of society.
• PIL monitors important institutions like protective homes, mental asylums, and prisons.
• With the introduction of PIL, the public have greater access to the judicial review of administrative actions.

Criticism Of PIL

There are chances of arousal of the competing rights issues due to PIL actions. For instance, in the case of a court ordering the closure of the poultry industry, the interest of the workers and families might not be considered.

• This could lead to frivolous PIL being filed by the parties having a vested interest in overburdened courts. This is because PILs are mostly used for politics mainly and personal benefits in today’s world.
• Through the PIL overheating by the Judiciary can be brought to light about social-economic or environmental issues.
• For many years, PIL has been pending regarding exploited and backward groups. Because of this, it is also possible that many pending judgments may be only of academic importance due to the excessive delays in the disposal of public interest litigation cases.

Importance of PIL

The Importance of Public Interest Litigation in the judicial system can be understood as the road to providing justice for the marginalised society and those who have not been allowed to access their rights.

• For the Judiciary to find a balance, it is important to allow the real PIL while discouraging the frivolous once that can be accomplished by restricting the PILs to the situation where access to justice has been hampered.
• Additionally, it may be worthwhile to consider offering financial incentives for legitimate pillow suits such as Pro bono litigation, support for PIL civil society, legal assistance, and amicus curiae briefs.

Growth of Public Interest Litigation in India

The growth of Public Interest Litigation in India can be seen in the recent number of cases that have had their final judgements due to the filing of PIL. Public Interest Litigation functions as a tool for achieving social justice for the weaker sections of society as well. It ensures that no one in society is denied their fundamental rights.

• Several significant steps have been taken by the government as a result of the filing of these PILs.
• PIL was recently put into use when the PM CARES fund was repealed because of it.
• The Public Interest Litigation was also filed to address the issue of Indian migrants who were stuck in the Gulf countries. It put forward a request to the Government of India to work on the rescue operations.
• A PIL was also filed for the protection of workers involved in sanitation activities during the pandemic.

Who Can File A PIL?

A PIL can be filed in the Supreme Court by any Indian citizen. There are no such fixed eligibility criteria with respect to the filing of Public Interest Litigation in Court. The filing of PIL is dealt with in Article 32 of the Indian constitution. Further, as per Article 226 of the constitution, anyone can file a case in the High Court as well. Apart from that, a case can be filed in the magistrate’s court as well as per Section 133 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Procedure for Filing PIL in India

A Public Interest Litigation can be filed in court by any organization or a citizen of India. This can be done by filing a petition in two ways:

• A petition can be filed in the Supreme Court which is mentioned in Article 32 of the constitution.
• It can also be filed in the High Court which is provided for in the Article 226 of the Indian constitution.
• On the other hand, the court/s can take a newspaper report under consideration if it conforms with all the necessary requirements.

Examples of PIL

Let us take a look at a few examples of PIL cases in India that have had a significant impact on social, economic, and political issues.

Examples of PIL Cases
Vishakha v. State of Rajasthan	This landmark PIL was filed in 1992 to address sexual harassment in the workplace.
Javed v. State of Haryana	This case was made in support of the two-child policy and family planning in rural areas.
M.C. Mehta v. Union of India	This is a series of PILs filed by environmental activist M.C. Mehta, addressing various environmental issues like waste management in India.
Naz Foundation v. Government of NCT of Delhi	In this PIL filed in 2001, the Delhi High Court struck down Section 377 of the IPC, which criminalized homosexuality.

PIL UPSC

Public Interest Litigation, or PIL, is an important concept in Indian Polity and is always a contemporary issue in democratic countries like India. This feature makes it important to prepare deeply for the IAS exam. This topic can ask at least 2 to 3 questions in the Prelims exam.

Public Interest Litigation Notes PDF

You can get the Indian Polity books to prepare for Prelims and Mains Exams. Also, the NCERT books are of great relevance in such competitive papers.

Public Interest Litigation Mains Questions

Remember to download the UPSC question papers to practice what you learned.

Question-1. Explain the Public Interest Litigation. Who can file it, and on what basis can the court of law reject it? [Question Asked in 2000]

Question-2. Consider the following statements [Question Asked in 2008]

1. Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer was the chief justice of India
2. Justice V.R.Krishna Iyer is considered one of the progenitors of Public Interest Litigation in the Indian judicial system.

Which of the above statements is correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both are correct
4. None of the above

Correct Answer:- B)2 Only

UPSC Notes
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