"The Attractive Brand Name Of Public Interest Litigation Can't Be Used For Suspicious Products Of Mischief": Himachal High Court

"Time has come to weed out the petitions, which though titled as public interest litigations are in essence something else," observed the Himachal Pradesh High Court on Thursday while expressing shock as to the number of frivolous petitions being filed before it under the garb of public interest. Thus, the Court observed that whenever a case is brought filed as a PIL, the case has to be closely examined to see whether it can actually be classified as a PIL because, "The attractive brand name of public interest litigation cannot be used for suspicious products of mischief. The Apex Court would only allow litigation in public interest if it is found: That the impugned action is violative of any of the rights enshrined in Part III of the Constitution of India or any other legal right and relief is sought for its enforcement; That the action complained of is palpably illegal or malafide and affects the group of persons who are not in a position to protect their own interest or on account of poverty, incapacity or ignorance; That the person or a group of persons were approaching the Court in public interest for redressal of public injury arising from the breach of public duty or from violation of some provision of the Constitutional law; That such person or group of persons is not a busy body or a meddlesome inter-loper and have not approached with mala fide intention of vindicating their personal vengeance or grievance; That the process of public interest litigation was not being abused by politicians or other busy bodies for political or unrelated objective. Every default on the part of the State or Public Authority being not justiciable in such litigation; That the litigation initiated in public interest was such that if not remedied or prevented would weaken the faith of the common man in the institution of the judicial and the democratic set up of the country; That the State action was being tried to be covered under the carpet and intended to be thrown out on technicalities; Public interest litigation may be initiated either upon a petition filed or on the basis of a letter or other information received but upon satisfaction that the information laid before the Court was of such a nature which required examination; That the person approaching the Court has come with clean hands, clean heart and clean objectives; That before taking any action in public interest the Court must be satisfied that its forum was not being misused by any unscrupulous litigant, politicians, busy body or persons of groups with mala fide objective or either for vindication of their personal grievance or by resorting to black-mailing or considerations extraneous to public interest.