Introduction

Public interest lawyering as a concept is new in India. The only form of lawyering in the public
interest that is understood or recognized is what is known as “public interest litigation”. Public
Interest Litigation or “PIL” was an innovation initiated in India in the late seventies and early
eighties to enable the most marginalized communities to gain access to the higher courts. This
was an innovation by lawyers, activists, judges of the Supreme Court that was made possible by
expanding the traditional rules of standing in constitutional litigation so that any public spirited
individual or organization could approach the courts on behalf of those who had no access or the
means to access the courts for relief.

Nature

Public interest litigation is a litigation undertaken for the purpose of redressing public injury,
enforcing public duty, protecting social, collective and diffused rights, interests or vindicating
public interest. It is Legal action initiated in a court of law for the enforcement of public or
general interest in which the public or the class of the community has pecuniary interest, or has
some interest because it will affect their legal rights.

While this is an abstract term for the concept of public interest litigation, according to
some, public interest lawyering is the act of Public interest lawyering which is a process of legal
empowerment aimed at capacity building of everyday people towards using the law and
institutions to bring about social change. In public interest lawyering, the community takes the
lead in an active process while working hand in hand with lawyers. public interest lawyering is
different from private interest lawyering where the lawyer is paid by the litigator and the interest
for defending is concentrated on one particular client for specific reasons like for example, some
wrongs caused to him.

"Public Interest Litigation" or PIL right since its inception in the Indian judicial system, has
shown some good examples of safeguarding the rights of the people of India and has
strengthened the position of the Supreme Court of India as preeminent guardian of Fundamental
Rights enumerated in the Indian Constitution. It was introduced in India around 1979-80 by the
Supreme Court judges, Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer along with Justice P. N. Bhagwati. And since
then there had been instances when the Courts are keen to decide the matters of public

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importance without delay, as the case in Shyam Sundar where the court accepted the matter even
when the application was made by a letter sent through post.

Judicial Approach

The concept of public interest lawyering may be made clear with the example of few landmark
cases:

For example, consider the case of Independent Thought Vs. Union of India, 2013, which was
filed by an NGO for criminalizing sexual intercourse with child brides. The Supreme court in
this landmark case, which is in the nature of public interest litigation, decided that even though
S.376 IPC exempts sexual intercourse with brides above 16 years of age from the concept of
rape, the same must be considered as criminal offence because POCSO Act extends the scope of
the law to any sort of sexual intercourse done with children who are under 18 years of age.

Here the petitioner is not a particular child-bride under the age of 18 but above the age of 15 who
has been victimized of marital rape. But the petitioner is an NGO who are cause lawyers or
social cause lawyers who filed the case for the cause of children’s right against sexual violence.
Thus, social cause lawyers need not be actual lawyers always. They can be any individual who
wish to fight for the causes of socially oppressed, minority groups or for some specific
environmental cause which may affect the human society as a whole.

Earlier, the judiciary, including supreme court entertained litigation only from those
parties that were affected directly or indirectly by it. It heard and decided case only under its
original and appellate jurisdiction. But subsequently the court permitted case on the ground of
public interest litigation. It means that even people, who are not directly involved in the court to
involved to the case, may bring to the notice of the court matters ot the public interest. It is the
privilege of the court to entertain the application for the public interest litigation. The concept of
PIL was introduced by Justice P.N.Bhagwati. PIL is important because Justice is now available
to the poor and the weaker sections of the society.

Constitutional Perspective

The concept of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is in consonance with the principles enshrined in
Article 39A of the Constitution of India to protect and deliver prompt social justice with the help
of law. Before the 1980s, only the aggrieved party could approach the courts for justice. After
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the emergency era the high court reached out to the people, devising a means for any person of
the public (or an NGO) to approach the court seeking legal remedy in cases where the public
interest is at stake. So here we can say that this process changed the society and has played a
very crucial role within the limits of judiciary to promote justice and fare dealing to society.

Public interest litigation gives a wider description to the right to equality, life and personality
which is guaranteed under part III of the Constitution of India. It also functions as an effective
instrument for changes in the society or social welfare. Through public interest litigation, any
public or person can seek remedy on behalf of the oppressed class by introducing a PIL.

Public interest lawyering is a process of legal empowerment aimed at capacity building of

everyday people towards using the law and institutions to bring about social change. In public
interest lawyering, general people and community takes the lead in an active process while
working hand in hand with lawyers. It is a process that requires the participation of the affected
community from onset. Today we understand that the significance of legal empowerment
especially towards poverty reduction can be seen with the established link between legal rights
and poverty. It is therefore the moral duty of lawyers to teach and educate the public about the
law and how to use the law to achieve common good that will positively impact on all the people
with the same characteristics. The role of lawyers as agents of change and builders of civil
society ought to be made apparent from beginning just as medical doctors have the underlining
principle of saving life.

Public Interest lawyering has played a crucial role in the Indian society and has changed the
society at large. Some lawyers are playing a good role in public litigations and have bought a big
change in society. The Indian Supreme Court has emphatically stated that PIL is different from
adversary litigation. The Court observed that PIL is intended to bring justice to the poor people
in the society. Public interest litigation is bought before the court not for the purpose of enforcing
the right of an individual against another as happens in the ordinary litigation, but is intended to
promote and vindicate Public Interest which demands that violation of constitutional or legal
right or any social right of large number of people who are poor, ignorant or in a socially and
economically disadvantaged position should not go unnoticed and unredressed. So therefore, in
such a way a society can be developed and changed at constant level or we can say by this
process it is clear that the Indian society is changed from traditional problems faced by the
people of society to novel society.
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The public Interest lawyering has emphatically brought an impact on the society with new
development e.g. The poverty index has been decreased by such act, free legal aid clinic is
another example of it. And it put an impact on law students that they are being attracted by such
work that they are doing their best over it. The Public interest lawyering has the immense role of
changing society and initially before commencing of this process the people who were helpless
and poor and Govt too was not interested to bring a change in the society, but later after the
beginning of this process the society has gradually changed and is still changing. This is really a
good achievement of the society as we can say it modernize the society. The country like India is
not still reached to the extraordinary level as it is a developing county but I believe that it should
support such things and the Indian judicial system should take the Suo moto cognizance of these
activities and litigations.

Public interest law encompasses a wide variety of activities that are designed to improve access
to justice for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of our society. These activities
seek to promote the fair and just operation of laws, policies and practices for all.

We traditionally associate community legal centers and legal aid offices with this sort of work,
but public interest lawyering takes place across a diverse array of practice settings: for example,
government departments, courts, and other community organizations. There are also the
contributions of private law firms and lawyers who act pro bono, meaning free of charge or at a
significantly reduced fee. Public interest lawyers perform a number of different roles and tasks to
promote access to justice. Some common activities include offering free legal services, providing
community education, or undertaking law reform and policy work.

Collaboration

The promotion of access to justice is not the exclusive province of lawyers. In fact, endeavors to
implement social and legal change are most effective when lawyers and other professionals
collaborate. Public interest law therefore provides a fantastic opportunity for lawyers and law
students to cooperate and work with other professionals in multidisciplinary endeavors.

Clinical legal education

Some public interest lawyers offer clinical legal education to students. Clinical legal education is
about experiential learning and reflection. It involves moving law students out of the traditional
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classroom to work with practicing solicitors who act as clinical teachers. Clinical legal education
offers students the opportunity to combine learning and service, enabling them to learn from real
life experiences with clients. In this way, clinical work adds an invaluable hands-on component
to legal education.

Public interest lawyering has made a very important role of changing minds of people in India,
those people in the society who were not aware about the law and legislation in the society now
have been informed and acknowledged by law by the good lawyers ,and I think this is a very
good step which lawyers are doing for the benefit of public interest.

Conclusion

In my conclusion I can say that public interest lawyering has bought a big change in the society
of India than in the past and its due to public interest lawyering now at least society is aware
about the law and it has made a significant change in the minds of people .It has modernized the
society as compared to past society before the commencement of it ,so I believe that it has made
a change but there are some other crisis which people are facing and it has to reach to that level ,I
can't say that it had not done anything, of course it has bring a change in society in different
forms, at last but not least I again can say that it (Public interest lawyering) has give its best in
my understanding.