The PIL is one of the most abused legal instruments in India. After all, it is the quickest way to get media attention. The PIL(public interest litigation) despite its allegedly noble intents is a plague on Indian society, where judges sit like kings on a throne and start passing orders to the government as to what they should do and how they should do it.
This book talks about the history of the Public Interest Litigation and how it evolved to the current form. No other country has anything similar to the PIL and clueless western commentators who praise the PIL are often referenced by Indian judges as an endorsement and take great pride in that.
Public Interest Litigation — A Dangerous Farce
Courts today are involved in everything from whether car windows should be tinted or how wide the roads should be, by using the PIL as an excuse to play God and take over the domain of the legislature and the executive. PILs have contrary to public perceptions been extremely anti-poor. The courts have used PILs as a way to demolish slums at a rate that even Indira Gandhi during the emergency wasn’t able to. Tribals were displaced. Industries were shut and even the government wasn’t able to do anything about it. They had to obey the court.
The courts don’t even need a petitioner anymore. They just take Suo Motu cognizance of random things and start ordering the government. There is no role for the petitioner in public interest litigation. The court appoints an amicus (who tends to be a prominent lawyer chosen by the court, usually people like Harish salve etc). And once appointed it becomes more like a private discussion between the amicus and the court. There are no standards of evidence. Courts literally operate on hearsay and treat those as facts.
Most of the time the petitioners get stiffed, parties who are affected by the judgement are not given a chance to be heard or made a party to the proceedings. This is the definition of injustice and runs contrary to all accepted principles of law and jurisprudence.
About the Author
Prof. (Dr.) Bhuwania did his B.A., LL.B. (Hons) at the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru and an LL.M. from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, before completing his Ph.D. at Columbia University, New York. He has previously held teaching positions at South Asian University and Ambedkar University Delhi.
He has also held various visiting positions, including at the Centre for Modern Indian Studies (CeMIS) in the University of Göttingen, Centre for the Study of Law and Governance (CSLG) in Jawaharlal Nehru University as well as at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in New Delhi.
