PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (PIL) IN INDIA:
Introduction:
Public Interest Litigation generally means litigation or a petition for the protection of public interest. It is not established in court of law, by the aggrieved party himself but by the court itself or any other private party. PIL is the power given to the public by the court through judicial activism. However, the person filing the petition must prove to the satisfaction of the court that the PIL is being filed for a public interest not for any personal or political vendetta.
Such cases where the victim cannot approach the court himself due to lack of required resources or is being is suppressed upon, the court can itself take the cognizance of the matter and commence on the petition.
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It does not mean anything so narrow as mere curiosity, or as the interests of the particular localities, which may be affected by the matters in question.
Interest shared by citizens generally in affairs of local, state or national government...."
The Supreme Court of India in People's Union for Democratic Rights & Others v. Union of India & Others [AIR (1982) 3 SCC 235] defined PIL as, “….is a cooperative or collaborative effort by the petitioner, the State of public authority and the judiciary to secure observance of constitutional or basic human rights, benefits and privileges upon poor, downtrodden and vulnerable sections of the society".
Origin and History of PIL:
The term “PIL” first originated in the United States in the mid-1980s. The Indian PIL is an improved version of the US PIL. Prior to 1980s only the aggrieved party has the locus standi to file a case and seek remedy for his grievance the non affected persons had no locus standi to do so. As a result of this there was hardly any link between the rights given by the Constitution, laws laid down by the legislature and the vast majority of illiterate citizens of the
Rough draft segregation was a terribly unfair law that lasted about a hundred years in the United States. A group of high school students who struggled for better educational conditions were a big factor in ending segregation in the United States. Even though going on strike for better conditions may have negative impacts, African Americans were not treated equally in education because of segregation and the Jim Crow laws were so unfair and the black schools were in terrible condition compared to the whites’. In 1896 the Plessy v. Ferguson case made the segregation of blacks and whites legal; and the Supreme Court made the Jim Crow laws legal, saying that blacks are “separate but equal.” African Americans knew that was unfair and could especially see it in the schools.
According to Thomas Jefferson, all men are created equal with certain unalienable rights. Unalienable rights are rights given to the people by their Creator rather than by government. These rights are inseparable from us and can’t be altered, denied, nullified or taken away by any government, except in extremely rare circumstances in which the government can take action against a particular right as long as it is in favor of the people’s safety. The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America mentions three examples of unalienable rights: “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. I believe these rights, since they are acquired by every human being from the day they are conceived, should always be respected, but being realistic, most of the time, the government intervenes and either diminishes or
The ninth and tenth amendments could be exactly what a women is looking for when choosing to have an abortion. While the ninth amendment states “there are other rights that may exist aside from the ones explicitly mentioned, and even though they are not listed, it does not mean they can be violated.” The fourth amendment states the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated. A woman not having the right to have an abortion would be like saying she doesn’t have the right to do what she wants with her body (violation of the 9th amendment) or in other words, her property.
The public interest defence was created by the deformation act 2013, to protect defamatory material. The concept of public interest can be a vague term. What one might consider public interest someone else may not? For example, some people believe celebrity gossip is the public interest. The public recognises the term public interest and it is used as a defence for media intrusions of privacy. Everyone has the right to privacy, but sometimes this is not the case. Depending on the person or the organisation this can be invaded depending on the degree of the public interest. In order for something to be in the public interest, the subject has to be of interest for a collective amount of people not just for an individual. The breaches of exposing privacy would be exempt if it was to be to expose crime if an investigator was to breach someone’s privacy but they were exposing crime, which would be of public interest, and then this would be acceptable. Protecting the public health or safety of the public is also an exception, protecting the public from being misled. Also disclosing someone’s failure or likely failure by any obligation they have. In order for these reasons to become except the publication will need to justify why this would
In John Rawls’ “Theory of Justice,” he describes important aspects of justice that are often times overlooked when trying to contain the controversy of justice. The main contribution that Rawls has to offer for equality and justice is his two principles of justice. The two principles of justice apply to the basic structure of society and govern rights and duties and attempt to help regulate the distribution of social and economic advantages. The first principle says that each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive scheme of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar scheme of liberties for others. This first principle has the ability to make the basic liberties of Americans equal, due to its emphasize on the topic of equality
and remedies applied by courts of law in civil proceedings giving the plaintiff or claimant relief
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 with a vision to protect freedom of speech for the American people. The union was formed in the wake of the World War I, when the fear of communism takeover outweighed the importance of civil liberties. The ACLU later advanced as the partisan of the American middle class, largely consisting of labor. During the mid-1930’s, the ACLU worked on protecting the rights of labor against businesses, as it viewed the justice system and the state as the enemy, working alongside corporations in advancing business interests and undermining the interest of the labor. The first general counsel of the ACLU prominently defined the stance of his organization on American justice system by saying, “The decisions
Another way to manage resource is to set national quotas. The quota system will conserve the stock and optimize harvesting levels. When the quota is in place, wildlife will be protected from over-exploitation. Quotas may be auction to the highest bidder; therefore the winner will enforce rules for harvesting. Open-access problems can be managed if individuals or a certain group controls property rights. While controlling the property rights, regulations may be enforced for better results. Regulations can determine what is allowed or not allowed on the land. To be economically efficient and conserve wildlife, people should harvest at certain time of the day. This will reduce overexploitation and give time for the stocks to reproduce. Ultimately, regulation, quotas, taxes and control will help overexploitation decline at a dramatic rate.
Mostly, the interest groups provide information that could rather not benefit the citizens since they might not be aware. 1 Gun policies for example, is one of the policies influenced by Interest groups whereby a group like TSRPAC is important as it ensure that all the government official and other state officers (TSRAPAC: 1), as well as media and public are trained and informed about handling riffles (TSRAPAC: 1), and through this privileges, they influence the policy making about gun use as the second Amendment of gun law (TSRAPAC: 1). This interest group is important in that they ensure that people are protected by the law through the constitutional rights to possess and use riffles.
There is a collective existence of different forms legal systems, because of the country’s diversity in culture, language and religion. This diversity is able to flourish in India only because of representation of different communities. Diversity and pluralism are acknowledged in India which safeguards the interests of different social groups and communities. This led to law being seen as necessarily pluralistic. However, after colonisation there was an effort made by the British to make law uniform, an essential condition in what was seen as ‘modern law’. Nonetheless, after independence an effort was made to have a pluralistic legal system as this would lead to better representation of different communities. This is how the Panchayati Raj system, a form of local self-government came about. Panchayats were reintroduced in 1992 after the British rule, and there a panchayat in every town of village. The people of the village elect the members of the ‘panch’, whose responsibility is the local administration of the village. In many places, gram panchayats are also known as gram sabhas. In this manner, different forms of legal pluralism shape everyday ordering and disputing in rural and urban India. They relate to formal law as well as customary legal orders equally. The two governance systems interact, which can be termed as formal law and traditional law. Customary law is also termed as unnamed law as it does not refer to a specific basis of
The grounds of judicial review help judges uphold constitutional principles by, ensuring discretionary power of public bodies correspond with inter alia the rule of law. I will discuss the grounds of illegality, irrationality and proportionality in relation to examining what case law reveals about the purpose and effect these grounds.
Pranil Thapa Prof. Sherry Sharifians GOVT 2305-73062 February 11,2018 Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in America Civil rights are expansive sets of rights put in place with the aim of protecting citizens from unfair treatment from an elected government. In other words, they are rights that guarantee an equal treatment of all the citizens regardless of their political affiliation (Crenshaw, Kimberlé Williams, et al, p.15). They advocate for fair treatment for all in areas such as education, housing, public accommodation and employment among others based characteristics that are legally protected by the constitution. Similarly, civil rights are curbs designed to protect the powers of the majority and ensure that they make decisions that benefit everyone in a country. They protect citizens from any form of discrimination by the majority. On the other hand, civil liberties are limitations placed on the government to prevent it from doing things that might interfere with personal freedom of its citizens. Civil liberties are freedoms
The court adduced that in United State, a judge of a higher court has an inherent power to decline to allow a prosecution to proceed if he is satisfied that it is oppressive and vexatious and an abuse of the process of the court. By virtue of section 17 of Courts Act, the judges of supreme court possess the same powers.
Firstly in this report, I will be giving the different definitions of rule of law by different philosophers; secondly, I will be applying the rule of law to the English Legal system and thirdly I will be explaining separation of powers with a focus on the impartial judiciary. Finally, I will be using cases to support every detailed point given.
Law is one of the most important elements that transform humans from mere beasts into intelligent and special beings. Law tells us what is right and wrong and how we, humans, should act to achieve a peaceful society while enjoying individual freedoms. The key to a successful nation is a firm, strong, and fair code of high laws that provides equal and just freedom to all citizens of the country. A strong government is as important as a firm code of law as a government is a backbone of a country and of the laws. A government is a system that executes and determines its laws. As much as fair laws are important, a capable government that will not go corrupt and provide fair services holds a vital role in building and maintaining a strong country.