WHAT IS PIL?

• Public interest litigations are those litigations that

are conducted as per the common interest of the
public in order to solve a grievance.

Public • Means to the benefit or advantage of

the community as a whole.
interest

• Means the process of taking legal

action in a court of law with the
Litigation object of enforcing a right or seeking
a remedy.
Thus a legal action initiated in the court of law for
enforcement of a general interest in which a class or
community has a pecuniary(related to or consisting of money)
or some interest is known as a public interest litigation.

It is the use of law to raise issues of broad public concern in

order to advance human rights and equality by aiding the
disadvantaged group of individuals or minorities

Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is a legal tool which allow

individuals, groups and communities to challenge government
decisions and activities in a court of law for the
enforcement of the public interest.

It serves as a protection of the public interest, and which

directly joints the public with judiciary
• The Indian Constitution allows any
– public-spirited person,
– NGO or
– a public interest law firm
to file a case on behalf of a group of persons whose
rights are affected.
The court can also act on its own motion.
A PIL must be filed against government authorities,
but private parties can also be included as
correspondents.
 Cases in which a PIL can be filed
include:

Environmental degradation

Violation of basic human rights of the poor

Content or conduct of government policy

To compel municipal authorities to perform a

public duty

Violation of religious rights or other basic

fundamental rights.
 Where can a PIL be filed and by
whom?
PIL(Public Interest Litigation) can be filed in any High Court or directly in
the Supreme Court.

It can be filed by any socially conscious or public spirited person or

NGO’s for seeking judicial redressal (remedy or compensation) of a public
injury.

The court in furtherance of public interest may consider it necessary to

inquire into the state of affairs of the subject-matter with the view to correct
the wrong and to enforce justice.
 PIL can be filed under

• Article 32 (fundamental • Article 226 (the

right which empowers the constitutional right which
Supreme court to issue empowers High court to
direction, order, and writs) issue a direction, order,
of the constitution and writs for enforcement
of fundamental rights and
other legal rights) of the
constitution

Supreme High
Court Court
 • As far as this Article is concerned a person
Article 32 can only approach the supreme court only
when a fundamental right is violated

• under this Article, a person can approach the

Article 226 high court for violation of fundamental as
well as constitutional rights

In case of • presence of the aggrieved party is not

necessary for the exercise of the courts
PIL jurisdiction
 Advantages of PIL
Encourage Government Accountability – government agencies
perform better when they know that they can be held accountable by
the courts

Provide assistance – no government has enough resources to

monitor and enforce all potential violations of the law

allow courts to clarify and interpret the law, close existing gaps and
raise human rights, environmental and social protection standards

supplement the criminal justice system if, for example, fines are
relatively low compared to the amount of environmental degradation
caused

Result In Restitution the restoration of something lost and

Compensation for damages and injustices suffered by individual,
groups and communities
 Disadvantages of PIL
be abused by individuals or groups to further their personal or commercial
interests

lead to a large number of complex, long lasting cases which can ‘clog up’
the legal system and create substantial costs

give judges wide discretion in interpreting and defining the public interest
which, arguably, could violate the separation of powers doctrine and
may be better done by a democratically elected legislature

be constrained through existing law which often does not reflect the
current actual conditions on the ground
leave public interest litigants that are unsuccessful with
an obligation to pay the often substantial (large in
amount) costs of the state and other parties

depend heavily on the lawyers involved and the

financial backing of parties

result in court judgments which government agencies

fail to implement properly
 LETTER PETITIONS
ENTERTAINED AS PIL
Bonded Labour matters (form of
forced labour)

Neglected Children (form of child abuse)

Non-payment of minimum wages to

workers and exploitation of casual
workers and complaints of violation of
Labour Laws (except in individual cases).
 Petitions from jails complaining of
harassment and seeking release after
having completed 14 years in jail, death
in jail, transfer, release on personal bond,
speedy trial as a fundamental right

Petitions against police for refusing to

register a case, harassment by police and
death in police custody.

Petitions against atrocities on women, in

particular harassment of bride, bride
burning, rape, murder, kidnapping etc
 Petitions complaining of harassment or
torture of villagers by co- villagers or by
police from persons belonging to Scheduled
Caste and Scheduled Tribes and
economically backward classes.

Petitions pertaining to environmental

pollution, disturbance of ecological balance,
drugs, food adulteration, maintenance of
heritage and culture, antiques, forest and wild
life and other matters of public importance

Family Pension

Petitions from riot -victims

 CASES THAT CANT BE
ENTERTAINED AS PIL
Landlord-Tenant matters.

Service matter and those pertaining to Pension and

Gratuity.

Complaints against Central/ State Government

Departments and Local Bodies except those relating to
item Nos. (1) to (10) above.

Admission to medical and other educational institution.

Petitions for early hearing of cases pending in High

Courts and Subordinate Courts.
 INITIATION OF PIL AND DEVELOPMENT IN
INDIA

• PIL can be filed by any person even though their fundamental

rights are not violated provided that he is acting bonafide (true
intention) in the interest of public at large.
• Earlier in time only the aggrieved party could bring an action
in the court but with the passage of time the courts felt the need
to relax the locus standi (capacity to bring an action in a court).
•
This principle was enunciated through the case of
S.P.Gupta v. Union of India and Others where
Bhagwati, J quotes:
• “Any member of the public having sufficient interest
can maintain an action for judicial redress for
public inquiry arising from breach of public duty or
from violation of some provision of the Constitution
or the law and seek enforcement of such public duty
and observance of such constitutional or legal
provision.”
• In the same case J. Bhagwati also stated that “the
court has to innovate new methods and strategies to
provide access to justice to large masses of people
who are denied basic human rights, to whom liberty
and freedom have no meaning.”
 PIL was seen as a relief for those who could only dream of getting
Justice
The court explained the philosophy underlying PIL in the case of

Bandhua Mukti Morcha, A.I.R. 1984

S.C. 802(India) on 16 December, 1983

The case basically deals with the working

conditions of the labourers and the bonded
labours

The petition was filed by an organization which

was entertained by the Supreme Court and a
committee was formed by the court to look into
the matter.

It was found out that the workers were

being forced to do bonded labour.
Hussainara Khatoon & Orissa v. Home Secretary, State
Of Bihar, A.I.R 1979 S.C. 1369, on 9 March, 1979

This is case of A petition of Habeas Corpus (a court order

demanding that a public official (such as a warden) deliver
an imprisoned individual to the court and show a valid
reason for that person's detention) was filed in order to
correct a huge administrative disorder in the state of Bihar

A large number of men and women including children were

put behind the bars without even conducting trial
procedures of which most the offences were petty in
nature.

Behind the bars for up to 5 to 10 years they were

deprived of their freedom. This has been characterized as
creeping jurisdiction in which the courts takes over the
administration of these institutions for protecting human
right
BENCHMARK PIL CASES
Vellore, Citizens' Welfare Forum vs. Union of India on
28 August,1996

In the Supreme Court allowed standing to a public-spirited

social organisation for protecting the health of residents of
Vellore.

In Vellore, tanneries (place where animal skins are made to

leather) situated around a river were found discharging
untreated effluents into the river, jeopardizing the health of
the residents.

The Court noticed that the leather industry was a major

foreign exchange earner and Tamil Nadu's export of
finished leather accounted for 80% of the country's export
of that commodity.

Nevertheless, the Court pointed out that the leather industry

had no right to destroy the ecology, degrade the
environment and pose a health hazard.
 A writ petition was filed by M.C Mehta, a social activist lawyer, he sought
closure for Shriram Industries as it was engaged in manufacturing of
hazardous substances and located in a densely populated area of Kirti Nagar.
While the petition was pending, on 4 and 6 December 1985, there was leakage
of oleum gas from one of its units which caused the death of an advocate and
affected the health of several others. The incident took place on December 4,
1985.
Just after one year from the Bhopal gas disaster a large number of persons –
both amongst the workmen and public were affected. This incident also
reminded of the Bhopal gas holocaust.
M.C Mehta filed a PIL under Articles 21 and 32 of the Constitution and
sought closure and relocation of the Shriram Caustic Chlorine and
Sulphuric Acid Plant which was located in a thickly populated area of
Delhi.
Factories were closed down immediately as Inspector of Factories and
Commissioner (Factories) issued separate orders dated December 8 and 24,
1985 .
This incident took place only a few months before Environment (Protection)
Act came into force, thus became a guiding force for having an effective law
like this.
 M.C. Mehta v. Union of India on January
12, 1988

The judgement delivered on January 12, 1988 lashed out at

civic authorities for allowing untreated sewage from
Kanpur’s tanneries to make its way into the Ganges.

The court passed three landmark judgments and a number of

Orders against polluting industries, numbering more than
50,000 in the Ganga basin, from time to time.
In this case, apart from industries, more than 250 towns and
cities also had to set up sewage treatment plants.
600 tanneries operated in a highly congested residential area
of Kolkata. The ruling shifted them out of the city and
relocated them to a planned leather complex in West Bengal.
The Court closed down several industries, allowing them to
reopen only after setting up effluent treatment plants and
controlled pollution.
As a result, millions of people escaped air and water pollution
in the Ganga basin, covering eight states in India.
Pt. Parmanand Katara vs Union
Of India & Ors on 28 August,
1989

Parmanand Katara, a human rights activist, filed a writ petition

in the Supreme Court. His basis was a newspaper report
concerning the death of a scooterist after an accident with a
speeding car. Doctors refused to attend to him. They
directed him to another hospital around 20 km. away that
could handle medico-legal cases. Based on the petition, the
Supreme Court held that:

Preservation of human life is of paramount importance.

Every doctor, at a government hospital or otherwise, has the
professional obligation to extend his/her services to protect life
There should be no doubt that the effort to save the person
should receive top priority. This applies not only to the legal
profession, but also to the police and other citizens part of the
matter.
 Misuse of PIL

Even though PIL acts as a mechanism to protect the

human rights the courts should see to it that the PIL is
not being misused.

According to J.Bhagwati “we must be careful to see that

the member of the public who approaches the court in case
of this kind is acting Bona fide and not for personal gain
or private profit or political motivation or other
oblique consideration. The court must not allow its
process to be abused by politicians or by others”
In PIL cases, the most crucial question for the court is to measure
the seriousness of the petitioner, and to see whether he is actually
the champion of the cause of the persons or groups he is
representing.

The effect of public interest litigation should go beyond the sphere

of the parties present in the proceedings, and it is to be noted that
public interest litigation must be accompanied by adequate
judicial control so as to prevent this technique from being used as
an instrument of coercion (persuading someone to do something
by using force or threats), blackmail or for other motive
 Qualities of a PIL Applicant
The court has to be satisfied about:

(a) the credentials of the applicant

(b) the prima facie (based on the first

impression) correctness or nature of
information given by him

(c) the information should not vague and

indefinite. The information should show
gravity and seriousness involved.
 CONCLUSION
PIL is a process of putting a public issue before the eyes of law

It’s a mechanism that helps the poor get justice. Justice should be granted to
one and all irrespective of whether rich or poor.

PIL helps in striking a balance between the two classes to provide justice to one
and all.

The courts must keep an eye on cases being filed and ensure bonafide interest
of the petitioner and the nature of the cause of action in order to avoid
unnecessary litigations.

Vexatious and mischievous litigation must be identified and struck down so

that the objectives of PIL aren’t violated.

PIL along with other tools like judicial review, activisms etc can be used to
attain complete independence of justice machinery.
 QUESTIONS

• 2 MARKS
1. What does Public Interest Litigation mean?
Explain the terms public Interest and litigation
2. What are the cases that can be entertained as
PIL?
3. What are the qualities of a PIL applicant that the
court should be satisfied about?
 8 MARKS

1. How a PIL is filed and by whom?

2. Explain the bench mark PIL cases
3. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of
PIL