Public Interest Litigation (PIL)

• Public interest litigation (PIL) is a legal action brought to safeguard “Public Interest” in a court of law. A public interest lawsuit can be filed in a court of law to address any issue that threatens the interests of the general public, such as pollution, terrorism, road safety, construction dangers, etc.
• The term “public interest litigation” is a borrowing from American law, where it was intended to give legal representation to previously underrepresented groups like the underprivileged, members of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, unorganised consumers, and citizens who were passionate about environmental issues. Judges have understood it to mean taking the general public’s intent into account. Through judicial activism, the courts have granted the general people this authority. Read the linked page’s Judicial Activism section in detail. The petitioner, however, must persuade the court that the petition is being submitted in the public interest and not just as pointless litigation by a busy body.
• Neglected children, bond labour issues, atrocities against women, non-payment of minimum wages to workers, exploitation of temporary workers, food adulteration, environmental pollution, disruption of ecological balance, preservation of heritage and culture, etc. are a few of the issues that are entertained under public interest litigation.

India’s Public Interest Litigation (PIL)

• An aggrieved party does not file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in court; rather, a private party or the court itself does.
• PILs have developed into a powerful instrument for upholding the executive and legislative branches’ legal obligations.
• Assuring universal justice and advancing public welfare are the main goals of PILs.
• Instead of protecting individual interests, which are covered by Fundamental Rights, it is typically employed to protect group interests.
• PILs may be filed with the High Courts and the Indian Supreme Court.
• PILs are an idea derived from judicial review authority.
• The idea of PILs has weakened the locus standi principle, which states that only the person or party whose rights have been violated may file petitions. It has most frequently and idealised been used to review the legality of a decision or action, or the lack thereof, by a public body through judicial review.
• PILs have been crucial to India’s political system. They are to blame for some important rulings in India, including the prohibition of immediate triple talaq, the opening of the Sabarimala and Haji Ali shrines to women, the legalisation of consensual homosexual relationships, the legalisation of passive euthanasia, and others.