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8 Indian J.L. & Just. 98 (2017)
Public Interest Litigation: Meaning and Dimensions

handle is hein.journals/ijlj8 and id is 322 raw text is: PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION: MEANING AND DIMENSIONS Dr. Sujit Kumar Biswas I. Introduction Under the Indian legal system, the concept of Public Interest Litigation has been said to have been borrowed from the American system 2 of Public Interest Law. However, in U.S.A. it has been invoked largely for the purpose of improving the life conditions of the Blacks and ensuring human rights to them. It was initiated for the benefit of a class of people, who had been denied their constitutional and legal rights because they were unable to have access to the Courts on account of their socio-economic disabilities. The main reason for the growth of Public Interest Law in U.S.A. was the failure of administrative agencies to protect public interest. In India, the concept of Public Interest Litigation was invoked to represent genuine cases of downtrodden masses of our society before the court. It is essentially a social action covering a variety of rights and is wider than as used in U.S.A.3 The passage of time has infused changes in its working, especially in the common law based systems. The moulding of the concept of Public Interest Litigation as a weapon of social dynamics has been used by the judiciary in India after the emergency. Public Interest Litigation has been called a very useful tool, having great educative value and improving future decision-making.4 As observed by Justice P.N.Bhagwati- The judiciary has to play a vital and important role not only in preventing and remedying abuse and misuse of power but also in eliminating exploitation and injustice. For this Assistant Professor, Department of Law, University of North Bengal, Raja Rammohunpur-734013, District Darjeeling, West Bengal 2 Opinion expressed by Rajeev Dhavan, Law as Struggle: Public Interest Law in India, 36:3 JILI (1994) Page 302: P.M. Bakshi, Public Interest Litigation, p. 4 (2 d Edition 2004): S.K. Sarkar, Public Interest Litigations and Public Nuisances, p. 13 (1st Edition 2002). There is also a view that the idea came from actio popularis of the Roman jurisprudence which allowed court access to every citizen in matters of public wrongs- Dr. I.P.Massey, Administrative Law, p. 277 (4th Edition 1995) 3 It is a socio-economic movement by the judiciary and one of the strategies to impart legal services to the poor. Unlike Public Interest Litigation in U.S.A. and Canada, Public Interest Litigation in India was initiated by the judiciary. 4 Justice J.S.Verma, The Constitutional Obligation of the Judiciary, (1997) 7 SCC (Journal) 1

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