Chapter 29 Public Interest Litigation

1. Where did the concept of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) originate and develop?

2. What was the purpose of PIL in the USA?

3. How is the concept of PIL related to judicial activism in India?

4. When was PIL introduced in India?

5. Who were the pioneers of the concept of PIL in India?

6. What are the other names for PIL?

7. How did the introduction of PIL relax the traditional rule of ‘locus standi’?

8. How has the Supreme Court defined PIL?

9. What are the real purposes of PIL?

10. What are the features of PIL?

11. What guidelines did the Supreme Court formulate in 1988 for entertaining PIL letters or petitions?

12. What categories of cases will ordinarily be entertained as PIL?

13. What categories of cases will not be entertained as PIL?

14. What principles did the Supreme Court evolve in regard to PIL?

15. What guidelines did the Supreme Court lay down for checking the misuse of PIL?