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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.
