The notion of “Public Interest Litigation” was taken from American legal doctrine. It was created in the USA in the 1960s to give legal representation to the weaker section of society such as minorities, individuals in jail, migrant workers, forced bonded labourers, and other underprivileged classes. In India, PIL is a manifestation of the Supreme Court’s judicial activism in India which has been introduced by Justices V.R. Krishna Iyer and P.N. Bhagwati. In Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar in 1979 first PIL was filed on the behalf of hundreds of Bihar jail inmates who were protesting the prison’s deplorable conditions. The conventional “locus standi” norm was loosened, which led to the establishment of PIL in India. According to this rule, the only individual who may petition the court for relief is the one whose interests have been infringed upon. This is not applicable to PIL. The practice of public interest litigation, which involves converting letters from civic-minded individuals or groups alleging abuses of fundamental rights into petitions, is permitted by Article 32 of the Indian Constitution. A PIL was filed in the case of M.C. Mehta v. Union of India against the contamination of the Ganga river in order to stop any further degradation of the water. The Supreme Court ruled that even if the petitioner is not the owner, he is still permitted to ask the court to uphold the law because he is attempting to save the lives of those who consume Ganga water on a daily basis. In 1998, the Supreme Court created a set of rules that must be followed while considering letters and petitions submitted to it as PILs. Further adjustments to these rules were made in 1993 and 2003.
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