Public Interest Litigation

Why in the News?

The Supreme Court listed for hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a judicial probe into the collapse of the bridge in Morbi, Gujarat.

Key Points:

About

Public Interest Litigation (PIL)

• Origin: USA 
• The PIL is a tool to safeguard the socially disadvantaged communities who cannot represent themselves and claim justice in a court of law.
• PILs can be filed either in a high court or in the Supreme Court.
• In India, the PIL is a product of the judicial activism role of the Supreme Court. 
• Pioneers of PIL:  Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer and Justice P.N. Bhagwati 

Features of the PIL

• PIL is brought before the Court, not for the purpose of enforcing the right of one individual against another but it is intended to promote and vindicate the public interest.
• In PIL, the role held by the Court is more assertive than in traditional actions; it is creative rather than passive.
• In PIL, litigation is undertaken for the purpose of redressing public injury and enforcing public duty.

Significance of PIL

• Public interest litigation is a crucial tool for enacting social change.
• To uphold the rule of law and quicken the convergence of justice and the law.
• Every segment of society will benefit from it.
• For a developing nation like India, it is advantageous.
• To fight society’s prevailing crimes.