Public Interest Litigation

Public Interest Litigation means a legal action initiated in a court of law for the enforcement of public interest
or general interest in which the public or class of the community have pecuniary interest or some interest by
which their legal rights or liabilities are affected."
Public Interest Litigation's explicit purpose is to alienate the suffering off all those who have borne the burnt of
insensitive treatment at the hands of fellow human being. Transparency in public life & fair judicial action are
the right answer to check increasing menace of violation of legal rights. Traditional rule was that the right to
move the Supreme Court is only available to those whose fundamental rights are infringed.

Public-Interest

Litigation is litigation for the protection of the public interest. In Indian law, Article 32 of
the Indian constitution contains a tool which directly joins the public with judiciary. A PIL may be
introduced in a court of law by the court itself (suo motu), rather than the aggrieved party or
another third party. For the exercise of the court's jurisdiction, it is not necessary for the victim of
the violation of his or her rights to personally approach the court. In a PIL, the right to file suit is
given to a member of the public by the courts through judicial activism. The member of the public
may be a non-governmental organization (NGO), an institution or an individual. The Supreme
Court of India, rejecting the criticism of judicial activism, has stated that the judiciary has stepped
in to give direction because due to executive inaction, the laws enacted by Parliament and the
state legislatures for the poor since independence have not been properly implemented.Subodh
Markandeya well known Senior Advocate of Supreme court of India and Judicial activist believes
that public interest litigation is the principal legal remedy For a common man and it is main
weapon of judicial activist .

Public interest Litigation, in simple words, means, litigation filed in a court of law, for the
protection of Public Interest, such as Pollution, Terrorism, Road safety, Constructional hazards
etc. Any matter where the interest of public at large is affected can be redressed by filing a Public
Interest Litigation in a court of law.
PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION is not defined in any statute or in any act. It has been
interpreted by judges to consider the intent of public at large. Although, the main and only focus
of such litigation is Public Interest there are various areas where a PUBLIC INTEREST
LITIGATION can be filed.
WHO CAN FILE A PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION
In normal cases, it is seen that the aggrieved party i.e. the victim, who is affected has to file his
case in a court of law. That person should have an interest in the dispute. But in filing of Public
Interest Litigation there is no such condition. Any person can file a Public Interest Litigation. The
only condition being that the same has to be filed n Public Interest. Public Interest Litigation is
litigation introduced in a court of law, not by the aggrieved party but by the court itself or by any

other private party. It is not necessary, for the exercise of the courts jurisdiction, that the person
who is the victim of the violation of his or her right should personally approach the court. Public
Interest Litigation is the power given to the public by courts to protect interest of public at large.
Such cases may occur when the victim does not have the necessary resources to commence
litigation or his freedom to move court has been suppressed or encroached upon. The court can
itself take cognizance of the matter and precede suo motu or cases can commence on the petition
of any public-spirited individual.
ORIGIN OF PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION ( PIL)
The term PIL originated in the United States in the mid-1980s. Since the nineteenth century,
various movements in that country had contributed to public interest law, which was part of the
legal aid movement. The first legal aid office was established in New York in 1876. In the 1960s
the PIL movement began to receive financial support from the office of Economic Opportunity,
This encouraged lawyers and public spirited persons to take up cases of the under-privileged and
fight against dangers to environment and public health and exploitation of consumers and the
weaker sections.

HISTORY OF PIL IN INDIA

PIL had begun in India towards the end of 1970s and came into full bloom in the 80s. Justice
V.R. Krishna Iyer and Justice PM. Bhagwati, honourable Judges of the Supreme Court of India
delievred landmark judgements which opened up new vistas in PIL.
OBJECTIVES OF PIL
According to Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, PIL is a process, of obtaining justice for the people, of
voicing peoples grievances through the legal process. The aim of PIL is to give to the common
people of this country access to the courts to obtain legal redress.
Public Interest Litigation popularly known as PIL can be broadly defined as litigation in the interest of
that nebulous entity: the public in general. Prior to 1980s, only the aggrieved party could personally
knock the doors of justice and seek remedy for his grievance and any other person who was not
personally affected could not knock the doors of justice as a proxy for the victim or the aggrieved
party. In other words, only the affected parties had the locus standi (standing required in law) to file a
case and continue the litigation and the non affected persons had no locus standi to do so. And as a
result, there was hardly any link between the rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Indian Union
and the laws made by the legislature on the one hand and the vast majority of illiterate citizens on the
other.

However, all these scenario gradually changed when the post emergency Supreme Court tackled the
problem of access to justice by people through radical changes and alterations made in the
requirements of locus standi and of party aggrieved. The splendid efforts of Justice P N Bhagwati and
Justice V R Krishna Iyer were instrumental of this juristic revolution of eighties to convert the apex
court of India into a Supreme Court for all Indians. And as a result any citizen of India or any
consumer groups or social action groups can approach the apex court of the country seeking legal
remedies in all cases where the interests of general public or a section of public are at stake. Further,
public interest cases could be filed without investment of heavy court fees as required in private civil
litigation.
PIL- A Boon:
1. In Public Interest Litigation (PIL) vigilant citizens of the country can find an inexpensive legal
remedy because there is only a nominal fixed court fee involved in this.
2. Further, through the so-called PIL, the litigants can focus attention on and achieve results
pertaining to larger public issues, especially in the fields of human rights, consumer welfare and
environment.

Consumer Protection Act, 1986

Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted in 1986 to protect
the interests of consumers in India. It makes provision for the establishment of consumer
councils and other authorities for the settlement of consumers' disputes and for matters
connected therewith.

THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, 1986

Though consumer is the purpose and most powerful motivating force of
production, yet at the same time consumer is equally vulnerable segment of the
whole marketing system. Attempts have been made to guard the interest of the
consumer in a sporadic way till 1986, when Government of India enacted a
comprehensive legislation-Consumer Protection Act, to safe guard the interest of
the consumer then ever before. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986, applies to
all goods and services, excluding goods for resale or for commercial purpose
and services rendered free of charge and under a contract for personal service.
The provisions of the Act are compensatory in nature. It covers public, private,
joint and cooperative sectors.
The Act enshrines the rights of the consumer such as right to safety, right
to be informed, right to be heard, and right to choose, right to seek redressal and
right to consumer education.

Consumer: A consumer is any person who buys any goods for a consideration
and user of such goods where the use is with the approval of buyer, any person
who hires/avails of any service for a consideration and any beneficiary of such
services, where such services are availed of with the approval of the person
hiring the service. The consumer need not have made full payment.
Goods: Goods mean any movable property and also include shares, but do not
include any auctionable claims.
Service: Service of any description such as banking, insurance, transport,
processing, housing construction, supply of electrical energy, entertainment,
board or lodging.
Nature of complaint:
a) Any unfair trade practice or restrictive trade practice adopted ;by the trader
b) Defective goods
b) Deficiency in service
c) Excess price charged ;by the trader
d) Unlawful goods sale, which is hazardous to life and safety when used
Consumer Courts: A three-tier-system
a) National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission: claims above Rs. 20
lakh
(a) Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission or State
Commission: Claims from Rs 5 to 20 lakh.
(a) Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum or District Forum: Claims upto
Rs 5 Lakh
Complaint: A complaint, hand written or typed, can be filed by a consumer, a
registered consumer organisation, central or state Government and one or
more consumers, where there are numerous consumers having the same
interest.No stamp or court fee is needed. The nature of complaint must be
clearly mentioned as well as the relief sought by the consumer. It must be in

quadruplicate in district forum or state commission. Else, additional copies

are required to be filed.
Grant of relief:
(a) Repair of defective goods
(b) Replacement of defective goods
(c) Refund of the price paid for the defective goods or service
(d) Removal of deficiency in service
(e) Refund of extra money charged
(f) Withdrawal of goods hazardous to life and safety
(g) Compensation for the loss or injury suffered by the consumer due to
negligence of the opposite party
(h) Adequate cost of filing and pursuing the complaint
Normally, complaints should be decided within 90 days from the date of
notice issued to the opposite party. Where a sample of any goods is required
to be tested, a complaint is required to be disposed of within 150 days; it may
take more time due to practical problems.
Consumer Protection Councils: Councils have been setup in all states and
at the center to promote and protect the rights and interest of consumers.
These councils are advisory in nature and can play important role in
recommending consumer oriented policies to the state and central
Government.