Find the Best Advocates for Public Interest Litigation – PIL. What is Public Interest Litigation – PIL ?. How it works in India ?.
ADVOCATES IN CHENNAI FOR PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION – PIL
Public Interest Litigation. –PIL is a soothing sensation balm to shredded hearts and tormented souls. District courts and other subordinate courts accept cases of PIL.
PIL is for constitutional / fundamental right violation then Supreme Court handles the PIL. But Supreme Court need not handle all PIL cases. Advocate Saravvanan Rajendran Law Chamber is one of the top Law firm with experienced, qualified and senior attorneys. These Advocates specialize in public interest litigation at Chennai High Court.
PIL against private party is not acceptable by courts. PIL can be against central or state govt. authority or municipal authority. A private party can be a respondent after a state authority becomes a party to a case.
What is Public Interest Litigation- PIL ?
PIL in very simple language means proceedings filed in a court. The proceedings is for the protection of public interest. It can be terrorism, road safety or pollution. Any issues where people at large get affected can file public law suit in court of law. Advocates from our Law firm offer the best legal services for Public interest litigation issues in Madras high court.
PIL definition is not there in any statute. A case gets interpreted as PIL by judge’s intent of public at large. The main area of focus in PIL is public interest. There are many areas where a case gets considered as PIL .
Who can file PIL?
In regular court cases the aggrieved party or victim can file a case in a court of law. That person needs to have interest in the case. Where as in Public Interest Litigation there is no such rule. Any person can file PIL but the case needs have public interest. There is no need to exercise court jurisdiction. Public interest litigation is power given by court to protect large number of people.
PIL can happen when the victim does not have resources to take up the issue with court. It also happens when his freedom to move court is being encroached upon or suppressed. Cases can start with petition from public spirited individual. The court can take cognizance of the matter on its own.
Objectives of PIL
A well known Justice has said “PIL is a process of obtaining justice for people. People’s grievances get voiced through legal process. The aim of PIL is to give common people of our country, the access to get legal redress.”
What is the Procedure to file a PIL in High Court?
Any person or any public spirited citizen can approach court for public cause and file a case. The public cause must be in the interest of public welfare or for the people.
- Public Interest Litigation comes under Art. 32 of our Constitution when filed in Supreme Court
- PIL comes under Art.226 of our Constitution when filed in High Court
- PIL comes under Sec. 133 of Cr.P.C when filed in Magistrate court or subordinate courts.
Guidelines of Apex court
There are guidelines given by Apex court to regulate the abuse of PIL. The guidelines are for the management and disposal of PILs. The court assesses whether the petitioner is a bonafide public spirited individual. Petitioner should not file PIL for personal gain or political or other considerations. Politicians should not abuse PIL to delay administrative action.
Letters of writ petitions
The court considers a letter as writ petition and takes necessary action. But every letter is not considerable as writ petition for PIL. The court considers the following letters as writ petitions –
- The letter needs to be from the victim or aggrieved person
- The letter can be from a public spirit individual
- A social group can represent a person in its custody or any person. They can write a petition for the enforcement of legal or constitutional rights. The person may not be able to approach court for redressal. It can be due to disability, social disadvantage, poverty and so on.
Stay order or injunction of civil procedure code for PIL
It is necessary to control the misuse of PIL. When Govt. tries to control such false PIL, it leads to wide spread protests all over the country. People who are not aware of the abuse paint the picture as erosion of fundamental rights. Under such Scenario Supreme Court step in to resolve the issue. Supreme courts uses tools like stay order or injunction of civil procedure code for PIL
PIL is a weapon in the hands of litigants who wants to misuse for commercial gain or publicity. But it is a tool to the public spirited people who have good motive. Apex court gives various guidelines and imposes severe costs for frivolous PIL.
How much does it cost to file a PIL?
PIL costs very less when compared to other court proceedings. A court fee of INR 50 is payable for each respondent. Affix the same with the petition. But the advocate fees are extra and depend on the lawyer who handles the case.
How long does it take to close the case?
It depends on the nature of case. In matters of utmost importance of people’s lives court takes up the case right away. The court conduct hearing and dispose the case. It can be human right violation too. But of late PIL cases are getting piled with courts.
The hearing and case closure is taking long time. It is taking often years. Between hearings in some cases court gives directions to authorities to some actions. Judgment is only the final hearing.
What are the Issues that does not come under PIL?
The Supreme Court issued set of Public Interest Litigation guidelines. The following matters does not come under PIL Cases
- Tenant and landlord disputes
- Service disputes
- Pension and gratuity matters
- Complaints on state or central govt. departments except in the guidelines
- Complaints on medical and educational institution
- Early hearing petitions for pending cases in High court or subordinate courts
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