Matters where the interest of public at large is affected can be redressed by filing a Public Interest Litigation in a court of law.
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 in Public Interest. PIL is the power given to the public by courts to protect interest of public at large.
According to Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, PIL is a process, of obtaining justice for the people, of voicing people’s 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.
Any public spirited citizen can approach the court for the public cause by filing a petition:
In Supreme Court under Art.32 of the Constitution
In High Court under Art.226 of the Constitution
In the Court of Magistrate under Sec.133, Cr. P.C.
Even though it is very much essential to curb the misuse and abuse of PIL, any move by the government to regulate the PIL results in widespread protests from those who are not aware of its abuse and equate any form of regulation with erosion of their fundamental rights. Under these circumstances the Supreme Court of India is required to step in by incorporating safe guards provided by the Civil Procedure Code in matters of stay orders /injunctions in the arena of PIL.
A commitment to public service has always been deeply ingrained in our firm culture. Our lawyers have been instrumental in providing legal services to those in need. We always back those public spirited citizens who wish to use this tool for the welfare of all.