Public Interest Litigation

WHAT IS Public Interest Litigation (PIL) ?

We briefly dealt with Public Interest Litigation in the earlier Project on "Knowledge of
Law Essential for Public Servants". For your beneift the biref is reproduced
hereunder:
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) can be filed in any High Court or directly in the
Supreme Court. It is not necessary that the petitioner has suffered some injury of his
own or has had personal grievance to litigate. PIL is a right given to the socially
conscious member or a public spirited NGO to espouse a public cause by seeking
judicial for redressal of public injury. Such injury may arise from breach of public duty
or due to a violation of some provision of the Constitution. Public interest litigation is
the device by which public participation in judicial review of administrative action is
assured. It has the effect of making judicial process little more democratic.

In Black's Law Dictionary : "Public Interest Litigation means a legal action initiated in
a court of law for the enforcement of public interest or general interest in which the
public or class of the community have pecuniary interest or some interest by which
their legal rights or liabilities are affected."

WHAT IS OBJECT OF PIL ?

Public Interest Litigation's explicit purpose is to alienate the suffering off all those who
have borne the burnt of insensitive treatment at the hands of fellow human being.
Transparency in public life & fair judicial action are the right answer to check
increasing menace of violation of legal rights. Traditional rule was that the right to
move the Supreme Court is only available to those whose fundamental rights are
infringed.

WHEN PIL CAN BE FILED ?

According to the guidelines of the Supreme Court any member of public having
sufficient interest may maintain an action or petition by way of PIL provided: -

» There is a personal injury or injury to a disadvantaged section of the population for

whom access to legal justice system is difficult,

» The person bringing the action has sufficient interest to maintain an action of public
injury,

» The injury must have arisen because of breach of public duty or violation of the
Constitution or of the law,
It must seek enforcement of such public duty and observance of the constitutional law
or legal provisions.

» This is a powerful safeguard and has provided immense social benefits, where
there is essentially failure on the part of the execute to ameliorate the problems of the
oppressed citizens. Considering the importance of ths subject, three articles from the
web on the subject are reproduced hereunder.

Q. Who can file for a Public Interest Litigation?

Any individual or a group of people can file for a PIL if they prove to the Courts that they
are not filing the petition for their personal agenda. Therefore, anybody who is a part of
a society and is facing an issue can file a PIL against the Government and not another
individual or entity.

Q. Where can one file for the Public Interest Litigation?

You can file the PIL in the Apex Court under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution or
with the High Court under Article 226 of the Indian Constitution.

HOW TO FILE A PIL ?



1.Make an informed decision to file a case.

2.Consult all affected interest groups who are possible allies.

3.Be careful in filing a case because

i.Litigation can be expensive.

ii.Litigation can be time consuming.
iii.Litigation can take away decision making capability/strength from
communities.
iv.An adverse decision can affect the strength of the movement.
 v.Litigation involvement can divert the attention of the community away from
the real issues.

4.If you have taken the decision

i.Collect all the relevant information
ii.Be meticulous in gathering detail for use in the case. If you plan to use
photographs, retain the negatives and take an affidavit from the photographer.
Retain bills.
iii.Write to the relevant authorities and be clear about your demands.
iv.Maintain records in an organized fashion.
v.Consult a lawyer on the choice of forum.
vi.Engage a competent lawyer. If you are handling the matter yourself make
sure you get good legal advice on the drafting.
vii.A PIL can be filed only by a registered organization. If you are unregistered,
please file the PIL in the name of an office bearer/member in his/her personal
capacity.
viii.You may have to issue a legal notice to the concerned parties/authorities
before filing a PIL. Filing a suit against the government would require issuing a
notice to the concerned officer department at least two months prior to filing.

DEVOLPMENT OF PIL ?

Step 1 :Introduction
The Emergency of 1976 marked not just a political watershed in this country, but a
judicial one as well. In the euphoria of the return to democracy and in an attempt to
refurbish its image that had been tarnished by some Emergency decisions, the
Supreme Court of India opened the floodgates to public interest litigation (PIL). under
PIL, courts take up cases that concern not the rights of the petitioner but of the public
at large. In the last two decades, PIL has emerged as one of the most powerful tools
for promoting social justice and for protecting the rights of the poor.

Step 2 : Growth/Development :-
Among the numerous factors that have contributed to the growth of PIL in this
country, the following deserve special mention:

» The character of the Indian Constitution. Unlike Britain, India has a written
constitution which through Part III (Fundamental Rights) and Part IV (Directive
Principles of State Policy) provides a framework for regulating relations between the
state and its citizens and between citizens inter-se.

» India has some of the most progressive social legislation to be found anywhere in
the world whether it be relating to bonded labor, minimum wages, land ceiling,
environmental protection, etc. This has made it easier for the courts to haul up the
executive when it is not performing its duties in ensuring the rights of the poor as per
the law of the land.

» The liberal interpretation of locus standi where any person can apply to the court on
behalf of those who are economically or physically unable to come before it has
helped. Judges themselves have in some cases initiated suo moto action based on
newspaper articles or letters received

» Although social and economic rights given in the Indian Constitution under Part IV
are not legally enforceable, courts have creatively read these into fundamental rights
thereby making them judicially enforceable. For instance the "right to life" in Article 21
has been expanded to include right to free legal aid, right to live with dignity, right to
education, right to work, freedom from torture, barfetters and hand cuffing in prisons,
etc.

» Sensitive judges have constantly innovated on the side of the poor. for instance, in
the Bandhua Mukti Morcha case in 1983, the Supreme Court put the burden of proof
on the respondent stating it would treat every case of forced labor as a case of
bonded labor unless proven otherwise by the employer. Similarly in the Asiad workers
judgment case, Justice P.N. Bhagwati held that anyone getting less than the
minimum wage can approach the Supreme Court directly without going through the
labor commissioner and lower courts

» In PIL cases where the petitioner is not in a position to provide all the necessary
evidence, either because it is voluminous or because the parties are weak socially or
economically, courts have appointed commissions to collect information on facts and
present it before the bench.

PIL - NECESSITY ?

Though the Constitution of India guarantees equal rights to all citizens, irrespective of
race, gender, religion, and other considerations, and the "directive principles of state
policy" as stated in the Constitution obligate the Government to provide to all citizens
a minimum standard of living, the promise has not been fulfilled. The greater majority
of the Indian people have no assurance of two nutritious meals a day, safety of
employment, safe and clean housing, or such level of education as would make it
possible for them to understand their constitutional rights and obligations. Indian
newspapers abound in stories of the exploitation - by landlords, factory owners,
businessmen, and the state's own functionaries, such as police and revenue officials
- of children, women, villagers, the poor, and the working class.
Public Interest Litigation - Part: 2

Though the Constitution of India guarantees equal rights to all citizens, irrespective of
race, gender, religion, and other considerations, and the "directive principles of state
policy" as stated in the Constitution obligate the Government to provide to all citizens
a minimum standard of living, the promise has not been fulfilled. The greater majority
of the Indian people have no assurance of two nutritious meals a day, safety of
employment, safe and clean housing, or such level of education as would make it
possible for them to understand their constitutional rights and obligations. Indian
newspapers abound in stories of the exploitation - by landlords, factory owners,
businessmen, and the state's own functionaries, such as police and revenue officials
- of children, women, villagers, the poor, and the working class.

Though India's higher courts and, in particular, the Supreme Court have often been
sensitive to the grim social realities, and have on occasion given relief to the
oppressed, the poor do not have the capacity to represent themselves, or to take
advantage of progressive legislation. In 1982, the Supreme Court conceded that
unusual measures were warranted to enable people the full realization of not merely
their civil and political rights, but the enjoyment of economic, social, and cultural
rights, and in its far- reaching decision in the case of PUDR [People's Union for
Democratic Rights] vs. Union of India [1982 (2) S.C.C. 253], it recognised that a third
party could directly petition, whether through a letter or other means, the Court and
seek its intervention in a matter where another party's fundamental rights were being
violated. In this case, adverting to the Constitutional prohibition on "begar", or forced
labor and traffic in human beings, PUDR submitted that workers contracted to build
the large sports complex at the Asian Game Village in Delhi were being exploited.
PUDR asked the Court to recognize that "begar" was far more than compelling
someone to work against his or her will, and that work under exploitative and
grotesquely humiliating conditions, or work that was not even compensated by
prescribed minimum wages, was violative of fundamental rights. As the Supreme
Court noted,

The rule of law does not mean that the protection of the law must be available only to
a fortunate few or that the law should be allowed to be prostituted by the vested
interests for protecting and upholding the status quo under the guise of enforcement
of their civil and political rights. The poor too have civil and political rights and rule of
law is meant for them also, though today it exists only on paper and not in reality. If
the sugar barons and the alcohol kings have the fundamental right to carry on their
business and to fatten their purses by exploiting the consuming public, have the
chamars belonging to the lowest strata of society no fundamental right to earn an
honest living through their sweat and toil?
Thus the court was willing to acknowledge that it had a mandate to advance the rights
of the disadvantaged and poor, though this might be at the behest of individuals or
groups who themselves claimed no disability. Such litigation, termed Public Interest
Litigation or Social Action Litigation by its foremost advocate, Professor Upendra
Baxi, has given the court "epistolary jurisdiction".

But this traditional rule was considerably relaxed by the Supreme Court in its recent
rulings:

1. Peoples Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India ( A.I.R.. 1982 , S C

1473).
The court now permits Public Interest Litigation or Social Interest Litigation at the
instance of " Public spirited citizens" for the enforcement of constitutional & legal
rights of any person or group of persons who because of their socially or
economically disadvantaged position are unable to approach court for relief. Public
interest litigation is a part of the process of participate justice and standing in civil
litigation of that pattern must have liberal reception at the judicial door steps.

2. In the Judges Transfer Case - AIR 1982, SC 149:

Court held Public Interest Litigation can be filed by any member of public having
sufficient interest for public injury arising from violation of legal rights so as to get
judicial redress. This is absolutely necessary for maintaining Rule of law and
accelerating the balance between law and justice.
It is a settled law that when a person approaches the court of equity in exercise of
extraordinary jurisdiction, he should approach the court not only with clean hands but
with clean mind, heart and with clean objectives.

3. Shiram Food & Fertilizer case AIR (1986) 2 SCC 176 SC through Public Interest
Litigation directed the Co. Manufacturing hazardous & lethal chemical and gases
posing danger to life and health of workmen & to take all necessary safety measures
before re-opening the plant.

4. In the case of M.C Mehta V. Union of India (1988) 1 SCC 471 - In a Public
Interest Litigation brought against Ganga water pollution so as to prevent any further
pollution of Ganga water. Supreme court held that petitioner although not a riparian
owner is entitled to move the court for the enforcement of statutory provisions , as he
is the person interested in protecting the lives of the people who make use of Ganga
water.

5. Parmanand Katara V. Union of India - AIR 1989, SC 2039 :-

Supreme Court held in the Public Interest Litigation filed by a human right activist
fighting for general public interest that it is a paramount obligation of every member of
medical profession to give medical aid to every injured citizen as soon as possible
without waiting for any procedural formalities.

6. Council For Environment Legal Action V. Union Of India - (1996)5 SCC281 :

Public Interest Litigation filed by registered voluntary organisation regarding economic
degradation in coastal area. Supreme Court issued appropriate orders and directions
for enforcing the laws to protect ecology.
A report entitled "Treat Prisoners Equally HC" published in THE TRIBUNE , Aug 23
Punjab & Haryana High Court quashed the provisions of jail manual dividing
prisoners into A , B & C classes after holding that there cannot be any classification of
convicts on the basis of their social status, education or habit of living .This is a
remarkable ruling given by High Court by declaring 576-A paragraph of the manual to
be " Unconstitutional".

7. State V. Union Of India - AIR 1996 Cal 181 at 218 : Public Interest Litigation is a
strategic arm of the legal aid movement which intended to bring justice. Rule Of Law
does not mean that the Protection of the law must be available only to a fortunate few
or that the law should be allowed to be abused and misused by the vested interest. In
a recent ruling of Supreme Court on " GROWTH OF SLUMS" in Delhi through Public
Interest Litigation initiated by lawyers Mr. B.L. Wadhera & Mr. Almitra Patel Court
held that large area of public land is covered by the people living in slum area .
Departments despite being giving a dig on the slum clearance, it has been found that
more and more slums are coming into existence. Instead of "Slum Clearance", there
is "Slum Creation" in Delhi. As slums tended to increase; the Court directed the
departments to take appropriate action to check the growth of slums and to create an
environment worth for living.