Public interest litigation is a legal action seeking for the benefit of the disadvantaged groups of minority or individuals or raising public issues. It is a method of using law deliberately to effect social change. PIL is a petition which is filed by an individual or citizen groups or a non-government organization in the court pursuing justice on a problem which has a broader public interest. The main aim of PIL is to give ordinary people access to the law to acquire legal redress for a more substantial cause. It is not defined in any statute. It is the consequence of judicial activism to take a cause which affects the public at large but not affecting single person personally.
Any Indian citizen can file PIL. The only condition while filing a PIL is that, it should be filed with the significant public interest and not for private gain. If the court thinks that the PIL filed has public significance, then it will take the responsibility and appoint a lawyer to handle the case.
It is suggested in many cases that before filing PIL individuals or groups should give an opportunity to other parties to react to the issue and then take the decision. For instance, if you have an issue with any of the government policies or something else first try to solve it with the concerned authorities. Explain to them the whole thing and give them some reasonable time to respond to the issue. If they don’t respond and don’t take any action, then you can file a PIL.
Matters pertaining to the public interest which generally include and not limited to the following issues:
• Petitions from the riot victims;
• Environmental pollution, ecological imbalance;
• Food adulteration, preservation of heritage, culture, forests and wildlife;
• Exploitation of economically and socially downtrodden sections of the society (Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes etc);
• Welfare of children;
• Other matters related to the public interest.
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