INTRODUCTION

Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is a legal action which is taken in a court of law for legal
right of the community. The phrase “Public Interest Litigation” refers to particular human
claim made in a politically organized society or political institution. The concept of human
rights has assumed importance globally during the past few decades ever since the
announcement of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Human rights are the
important element of philosophical, social and political debates of the twentieth century.
Number of people around the world suffers from their basic needs. They are also refrained
from the enjoyment of the basic economic, social, cultural, civil as well as political rights.
This challenge is the basic issue not only concern with the one country but also universal
and global. The idea of the term “human rights” is older and not the invention of the
twentieth century. The genesis of human rights is the utopian concept of natural rights
traceable from the days of the Greek or even earlier. The period of renaissance witnessed
the basic changes in the belief of society. People thought that an idea of human right is to
be a general, social need and reality. The real foundation of human rights was truly laid
when resistance to religious intolerance and political economic 2 bondage began. The
Magna Carta (1215), The petition of Rights (1628), and the English Bill of Right (1689) were
proof of the human rights.
The scientific and intellectual achievement of liberal thinkers Galileo,
Newtion, Francis Bacon, John Lock, Montesquieu, Voltair and Rosseau had a profound
influence on the western world of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Similarly, the
French Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789), emphasized that “men are born and remain
free and equal in rights” which are “liberty, property, safety, and resistance to oppression.”
It defined “liberty” so as to include the right to religious freedom, freedom of association,
right to free speech, and freedom from arbitrary arrest and confinement. The most serious
philosophical blow to natural rights theory came particularly under the influence of Edmund
Burke, David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, J.S. Mill, Friedrich Karl Von Savigny, Sir Henry Maine,
John Austin and Hegel. The world community realized for the first time, the need to
establish some institutional mechanism to protect and preserve the rights of man after the
First World War. The idea of human rights came truly into its own after the rise and fall of
Nazism in Germany. The world institution was established after the First World War.
However, after Second World War in 1945, the important development took place i.e. the
establishment of the League of Nation for the protection of all individuals against all forms
of injustice and human rights violations after the UN 3 charter was signed in 1945. The
Charter of the United Nations, which stressed the urgency of international co-operation for
human rights, social Justice, peace and fundamental freedoms1.

1
Jeffrey M.Berry: 1977 lobbying the people (The Political Behaviour of Public Interest Groups) Princeton
University press, New Jerely,p.6
 OBJECTS OF PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION
The main object of public interest litigation is to safeguard the public interest and protect
constitutional and legal rights of disadvantaged group of peoples. The object of public
interest litigation is to see that the provisions of constitution of India are enforced for cause
of community of weaker section of the society or individual by a person without any private
gain. Further, the object of public interest litigation is to promote the public interest, which
mandates that violation of legal or constitutional rights of larger number of persons, poor,
down-trodden, ignorant, socially or economically disadvantaged should not go unredressed.
The court can take the cognizance in PIL, when there are complains which shocks the judicial
conscience. The object
of the public interest litigation is to protect legal and constitutional rights of disadvantaged
and oppressed groups or individual and to ensure public interest and also ensure socio-
economic justice to people. The Court would not hesitate to entertain a public interest
litigation writ against any person invested with statutory or public duties or against any non-
governmental institution or public obligation to approach the court against injustice caused
to them. Public interest litigation is useful for those who are poor, down trodden, ignorant
socially or economically disadvantage of and they are unable to approach 25 the court when
violation of legal or constitutional rights. When there are complaints the court is
empowered to take cognizance of public interest litigation, which shock the judicial
conscious. Where a legal wrong or legal injury or illegal burden is threatened to the persons,
who are poor, helpless or disabled and unable to approach the court, under such
circumstances, application can be moved by any member of the public by filing petition in
the High Court under Article 226 of constitution or in the Supreme court under Article 32 of
Constitution for seeking judicial redress.
In recent times, there has been lot of litigation in this branch of law. It is a famous
quote that disadvantages accompany advantages, which holds true in this regard. There are
many landmark judgments thereby yielding far reaching positive result but at the same time
frivolous, personal etc. too which to a great extent tarnished its image. There have been
instances where this branch has been used as a tool to settle personal rivalries. In order to
maintain its sanctity and value for which it was formulated, a careful examination and
scruitinization has become inevitable by the Hon’ble members of Judiciary 2. One writ
petition under Article 32 of the constitution was filed by Krishna Swami who was the
member of the Tenth Lok Sabha from Timil Nadu against Mr. Justice V. Ramaswami of the
Supreme Court of India, for the alleged financial irregularities, Krishna Swami V/S Union of
India. Rajkumar the petitioner is an advocate of District Karnal in Haryana, also field under
Article 32 of constitution against Mr. Justice U. Rama Swami of The Supreme Court of India
for the alleged financial irregularities. The Supreme Court dismissed the public interest
litigation writ on the ground that the petitioner has no Locus Standi in the case. The
petitioner had no public purpose in filing the said petition. Publicity is the key to how the

2
R. Castars. The Little World of an Indian District Officer. Macmillan. London. 1912. P. 13.
Supreme Court does promote some degree of social change. Such type of publicity may be
in two different forms. One social activists and other is public interest lawyers 3.

ORIGIN OF PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION IN U.S.A., U.K. AND INDIA

i) Origin of Public Interest Litigation in U.S.A
Public interest law is not a new phenomenon in America but it has
originated already more than four decades ago. In America there were movement from
1800s to 1900s, for example the legal aid movement, progressive Era reformers such as
Lovis Brandeis4, the watershed civil rights case, the American civil liberties, all these are
some of the roots of public interest law.

ii) Origin of Public Interest Litigation in U.K.

In the British judicial system Attorney General is alone as a sole protector of public interest
of the British society. Therefore, PIL can be 50 filed only in the name of Attorney General,
that is known as “Relator Action’. In petition if there is some private interest, he can not file
the petition directly without permission of the Attorney General. In case the permission is
rejected the party has no alternative to file the petition. So the mandatory requirement of
Attorney General’s permission to file a public interest litigation petition is a peculiar
characteristic of the British system. The law of Locus Standi was considerably relaxed in case
of PIL, where any person from public, who is having sufficient interest and who is acting in
bonafide manner for any public injury can file PIL.

iii) Origin of Public Interest Litigation in India

Public interest litigation is perhaps the most striking innovation in the past for legal services.
It has emerged a part of Legal Aid Movement directed towards the protection of
downtrodden masses of the country. Public interest litigation offered challenges and
opportunities for the 55 advocate to serve society through legal services. In India the seeds
of public interest litigation were sown by justice Krishna Iyer 1976. Thereafter the concept
of public interest litigation started to develop in Indian judicial system. After the effect of
the seeds the rule of public litigation was developed by the Apex Court by series of
outstanding decisions. The real credit for popularizing public interest goes to the judicial
activitism of the judges, notably to Justice Bhagwati, Justice Krishna Iyer and others.

In India the seeds of public interest litigation were sown by justice Krishna Iyer in 1976.
After the germination of the seeds of the concept of public interest litigation in the soil of

3
C.H. Firth (Ed) The Clarke Papers, London: Camden society 1891. Clarendon Press Vol. I.P. 301.
4
Das Govind, 2000. The Supreme Court : An overview : In Supreme But Not Infaillible : Essay in Honour of The
Supreme Court of India. Edited by B. N. Kirpal. New Delhi. Oxford University Press. P. 25.
Indian judicial system, this rule of public interest litigation was nourished, nurtured and
developed by the Apex Court of this land by a series of outstanding decisions. The
emergence of the concept of public interest litigation in India legal system has been
succinctly explain justice Bhagwati “Social Action 59 Litigation”, Justice Krishna and
Bhagwati of the Supreme Court submitted a report on national judicature recommending
the need for an extraordinary form of litigation. It was adopted specifically for the needs of
India’s people. This was beginning of public interest litigation, and it has flourished ever
since. Thecourts are now weighing conflicting public interests much more carefully before
entertaining writ petitions for hearing, what did come out of the older trend was the
liberalization of the rules of standing or LousStandi. The relaxation of these rules is perhaps
one of the most distinctive facts of Indian public interest litigation.
i

Constitutional Provisions of Public Interest Litigation

Article 21 of the constitution contains one of the most valuable fundamental rights which is
available to every person in the country. The mandate of Article 21 of the Constitution is
that no person shall be deprived of his life and personal liberty except according to the
procedure established under law. The distinction between Article 21 and Article 20 (3) of
the Constitution is real and substantial, fundamental right conferred by Article 21 of the
Constitution is available to every person, whether he is or is not person accused of any
offence, but the fundamental right conferred by Article 20 (3) of the Constitution is available
to those persons only who are persons accused of any offence. Because of this distinction, a
person may be disentitled to the protection of Article 20 (3) of the Constitution if he is not
accused of any offence but the protection of Article 21 of the Constitution cannot be denied
on the aforesaid ground. Therefore, court held that every person including a person accused
of an offence is entitled to protection of Article 21 of the Constitution.