The features of PIL are:
- It is a strategic arm of the legal aid movement to bring justice to the poor.
- It is a different kind of litigation from ordinary adversarial litigation, aiming to promote public interest.
- It is brought to promote and vindicate public interest, not to enforce individual rights against another.
- It demands that violations of constitutional and legal rights of large numbers of disadvantaged people not go unnoticed.
- It is a co-operative effort of the petitioner, State/Public Authority, and Court to secure constitutional/legal rights for vulnerable sections.
- Litigation is undertaken for redressing public injury, enforcing public duty, protecting collective rights, or vindicating public interest.
- The Court’s role is more assertive and creative, assuming a positive attitude.
- While procedural laws apply, principles of res judicata depend on petition nature.
- There is no determination on adjudication of individual rights.