Public Interest Litigation in India: A Renaissance in Social Justice Book

The book takes a look into the background of Public Interest Litigation and its acceptance in varying degrees in the different countries of the world including India. The dynamics, trends, procedure; innovations, limitations and dilemmas of Public Interest Litigation have been well explained. The scope of the book has been further enlarged by adding a new chapter on 'Law Relating to Legal Aid and Lok Adalats'. The work has been extensively revised for its new second edition and latest decisions of the Supreme Court and the High Courts have been incorporated. The Courts have entertained PIL to uphold the dignity of human beings, protect human rights especially of the weaker section of the society and provide social justice as enshrined under the Indian Constitution and International Conventions. The courts have also developed a new area of compensatory jurisprudence. In protecting the rights of women, the prisoners and undertrials, children, public health and safety, rule of law, the courts have also provided compensation to the victims. The Supreme Court's pronouncement in PUCL v. Union of India, has broadened the horizon of PIL. However, in some of its recent decisions of 2004, the Supreme Court has also sounded a note of caution in entertaining PIL. The court has in clear terms held that, when there is material to show that a petition styled as a public interest litigation is nothing but a camouflage to foster personal disputes, the petition should be thrown out. The court has laid down elaborate guidelines for treating a petition as public interest petition. Application of PIL to current legal questions like 'liberation of Bonded Labour', 'Protection of Environment versus Economic Development' are equally educative. This very well researched and lucidly written book is indeed a valuable addition to the scarce literature on the subject.Read More