BOON AND BANE OF THE PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 

In India, litigation is the lengthiest process for a common man. In the process litigation, there are always two or more than two parties fighting for their rights and deities. However, there are times when the party is aggrieved not by any private body or a person but by the whole society at large. In India, people can file Pubic Interest Litigation for the benefit of the whole society at large. It is a power given to “we the people of India”, for filing PIL in the court of law, for any abuse of human rights. Judiciary plays a very important role in a fair democracy, through the access of PIL, Judiciary is taking active participation in giving justice to the people. By the way of PIL, Judiciary is also having its vision over the state institutions such as prisoners, asylum, governmental hospitals and so on.[1] The term Public Interest Litigation has been taken from the American Jurisprudence that is designed to give legal representation to the underprivileged community. The underprivileged community consists of poor and uneducated people that do not know their rights and duties. There are many benefits of the PIL for the people of India. However, like they say “every coin has two sides” similarly, PIL also has some good and bad effects on the society. In the following study, there will be a discussion over the uses and misused of the power given to the people, that is “Public Interest Litigation”. It is always beneficiary to undersstand the topic, to start from scratch. Hence, at the beginning of the blog, the meaning and origin of the Public Interest Litigation will be discussed. Afterward, the uses and misuses of the PIL through the landmark cases and laws in India. A comparative study will also be conducted to get an idea of the issue in western countries as well. After the analysis of the assessment, a brief conclusion will be made for a better understanding of the topic.

MEANING AND ORIGIN OF PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION

It is seen that the Indian Constitution is known as a bag of borrowers. Similarly, the method of “Public Interest Litigation”, is taken by the American jurisprudence for the beneficiary of the underprivileged people who all are very concerned for society, the environment and human rights. In India, the term “Public Interest Litigation” simply refers to the people, who all file litigation in the court of law for the protection of legal provisions.[2] Such PILs usually deal with the subject of environment, pollution, terrorism, Constitutional provisions, and human rights and so on. PIL is not defined in any of the Act or statutes, yet its meaning has been given by many of jurists and honorable judges. It is basically interpreted as “to consider the intent of public at large”. PIL is the power given to the general public of India, to fight against the laws that are not suitable for society. It is a power given by the court of law through the pathway of judicial activism. There is a certain restriction over filing a PIL in a court of law; an individual must be given a real reason for filing the PIL. Before, accepting the PIL, the court shall be satisfied whether the issue raised in the court is valid to be heard or not. If the court is satisfied that the issue is genuine and shall be looked upon then only, the court will accept the PIL, or else reject in. The issue shall be related to public interest only; it shall not be a frivolous ground for any personal gain. The court can also take suo moto action for any urgent issue that shall be solved immediately. There is a huge list for which a PIL can be filled, some of the matters for which PIL can be filled are:- “Bonded Labour matters, Neglected Children, Non-payment of minimum wages to workers and exploitation of casual workers, Atrocities on women, Environmental pollution and disturbance of ecological balance, Food adulteration, Maintenance of heritage and culture and so on”.

The era of Public Interest Litigation was started in the case of “Mumbai Kamagar Sabha vs. Abdul Thai[3]”, where Justice Krishna Iyer, in 1976 had seed the concept of PIL in India. Afterward, the first PIL was reported in the case of “Hussainara Khatoon vs. State of Bihar[4]”, which was filed for the very harsh condition of the under-trial prisoners and full-time prisoners. That PIL resulted in the release of 40,000 under-trial prisoners from the jails and provided them fair and just treatment. In the same PIL, there were many of new forms were adopted by the Indian Authorities such as fair treatment for the prisoners, speedy trials for the under-trial prisoners and a nice environment for both under-trial and full-time prisoners.

LANDMARK CASES RELATED TO PIL

In the history of PIL, there are many cases that have been recorded to have significant value for the interpretation of the use of PIL. The following are some of the landmark cases that is dealing with the topic of Public Interest Litigation: -

In the case of “S.P. Gupta vs. Union of India[5]”, it was stated 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) 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”. In the same case a powerful weapon came out to the society for the enforcement of the “public duties”. that resulted in that any citizen of the country or any related consumer group can move to the Supreme Court of India for seeking legal assistance against the legal violation for the whole society or in other words public at large. Justice Bhagwati ensured that the process of PIL, shall be clearly enunciated. He made it clear that PIL is for the common man. Hence, he did not use many technical rules or forms but treated it with very common and ordinary letters for the sake of the public.

In another case of “Indian Banks’ Association, Bombay & Ors. vs. M/s Devkala Consultancy Service and Ors[6]” it was held by the Supreme Court of India that ““In an appropriate case, where the petitioner might have moved a court in her private interest and for redressal of the personal grievance, the court in furtherance of Public Interest may treat it a necessity to enquire into the state of affairs of the subject of litigation in the interest of justice.” Hence, it can be sensed that any private interest for an individual can also be treated as a matter if public interest.

in the case of “M.C Mehta vs. Union of India[7]”, a PIL was filed for the prevention of pollution in the holy river Ganga. The honorable Supreme Court held that the “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”.

In the landmark case of “Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan[8]”, was filled against sexual harassment of the workplace. The judgment gave the guidelines of the “Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013”. It was seen that sexual harassment is a violation of Fundamental rights and shall be given legal remedies for the same.

LEGAL PROVISIONS RELATED TO PIL 

In India, any citizen can file a PIL in the court of law. There is no category for the subject matter of the PIL, if it is for the public interest the PIL can be accepted by the court. There are different legal provisions for filing a PIL in the court of law which are as follows:-

1. For filing the PIL in the Supreme Court of India, Article 32 of the Indian Constitution is taken into consideration.[9]

2. For filing the PIL in the High Court Article 226 of the Indian Constitution is taken into consideration.[10]

3. For filing the PIL in the Court of Magistrate, section 133 of the Criminal Procedure Code is taken into consideration.[11]

After filing the PIL in the court, it is not guaranteed that the PIL will be accepted in the court, the court shall be satisfied that the PIL that is filled shall be heard for the public interest, if there is any personal benefit arising out of the petition, there are full chances that the writ will be canceled by the honorable judge. As per the Supreme Court of India, “A Public Interest Litigation can be filed against a State/ Central Govt., Municipal Authorities, and not any private party. The definition of State is the same as given under Article 12 of the Constitution and this includes the Governmental and Parliament of India and the Government and the Legislature of each of the States and all local or other authorities within the territory of India or under the control of the Government of India”.

BOON OF PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION 

The major objective of the PIL is to provide a pathway to the common man to address the court for obtaining legal redress. It is a very significant instrument for bringing social changes in society. It is important to adapt to the changes to maintain the rule of law and legal justice. The primary aim of the PIL is to give access to the poor and underprivileged community. By the virtue of PIL, justice and equity can be given to needy people.[12]

With the access of PIL, human rights have protected the society at large and those people, who are denied legal rights. PIL is another form of “right to equality”, it is given to all the citizens of India and it gives equal access to justice. It is seen that on behalf of a single individual, who cannot file a writ in the court can be filled the petition through any group or community. It is also a great method of judicial monitoring over the state’s institutions such as asylums, prisons, protective homes, and so on.[13]

Many of the advocates starts their profession by filing PIL in the courts and made their names in the legal world. Many of the lawyers have made their names by filing PIL in the courts, the best example is by citing the name of Advocate M.C. Mehta, no law student has completed his/her course without reading the case of M.C. Mehta v UOI. He is working very hard for providing human rights to the general people. It is also seen that PIL in an important tool for the enhancement of the concept of judicial review. By the help of PIL, public participation is also enhanced in the judicial review and also in the role if administration action taken by the judiciary.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION 

It is seen that many of the orders taken by the judiciary for the beneficiary of the public, often create problems for the larger society. Many of the PIL that has been filed against the polluting industry will create distress for the lower-wage people working in the same industry. Closure of such industries may result in a positive way of the environment yet, the economic benefits of the industries are often negligent by the judicial officers.

It is seen that access of PIL is open for all the advocates, there are no eligibility criteria for filing a PIL in the court. The same process has resulted in overburdening of the Petitions in the court. Thousands of petitions are filled with frivolous intent which takes the time of the court. There are times when PILs, have been filled only to obtain any political, corporate of personal gains. Many of the PILs have been filled just to waste the time of other parties. The origin of the PILs was to give access to the poor and underprivileged people. However, in the current times, it is not limited to such communities and many times due to the powerful people, the rights of the poor and underprivileged people are often oppressed.[14]

Many a time it is seen that cases related to Judicial Overreach, through the judiciary, come in the process of environmental problems and other environmental problems take the places of PILs. Due to the fraudulent PILs, many of the genuine cases are pending in the court of law for many years. It is said that “justice delayed is justice denied”. Hence, the role of PIL is now mistreated by society and has brought many misleading judgments.[15]

CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS

It is seen that on behalf of a single individual, who cannot file a writ in the court can file a petition through any group or community. It is a great method of judicial monitoring over the state institutions such as asylums, prisons, protective homes and so on. Whereas-, there are certain disadvantages as well, for instance, thousands of petitions are filled with frivolous intent which takes the time of the court. There are times when PILs, have been filled only to obtain any political, corporate of personal gains. Many of the PILs have been filled just to waste the time of other parties. The origin of the PIL, was to give access to the poor and underprivileged people.

References:

[1] Verma, Ashish. "Protection of Environment Through PIL in India: A Socio–Legal Analysis." Research Inspiration: An International Multidisciplinary e-Journal 6.III (2021): 24-30. [2] Kumar, Deepak. "Review of Courting the People: Public Interest Litigation in Post-Emergency India." GNLU L. Rev. 5 (2018): 210. [3] Mumbai Kamagar Sabha vs. Abdul Thai AIR 1976 SC 1455. [4] Hussainara Khatoon vs. State of Bihar, 1979 AIR 1369. [5] S.P. Gupta vs. Union of India, AIR 1982 SC 149. [6] Indian Banks’ Association, Bombay & Ors. vs. M/s Devkala Consultancy Service and Ors , [(2002) 1 SCC 367} [7] M.C Mehta vs. Union of India, 1988 SCR (2) 530. [8] Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, (1997) 6 SCC 241. [9] The Constitution of India, 1950. [10] The Constitution of India, 1950. [11] The Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. [12] SONTHALIA, SHUBHAM. "Public Interest Litigation–Guardian of Human Rights in India." (2021). [13] Belal, Filzah. "Role of Public Interest Litigation in Advancing Fundamental Rights of Have-Nots in India." GNLU JL Dev. & Pol. 8 (2018): 118. [14] Chandrachud, Chintan. "Structural injunctions and public interest litigation in India." Chintan Chandrachud,'Structural Injunctions and Public Interest Litigation in India'in PJ Yap, Constitutional Remedies in Asia (Routledge 2019) (2019). [15] Belal, Filzah. "Role of Public Interest Litigation in Advancing Fundamental Rights of Have-Nots in India." GNLU JL Dev. & Pol. 8 (2018): 118.

~Authored by Shivani Rajput