This happened many years ago when I was a practising lawyer in Gujarat High Court. A Tamil bonded labourer had managed to drop a letter to his mother in Chennai that he has been sold and kept as bonded labourer on a ship. Mother worked as a maid in house of a Police Inspector in Chennai. She gave letter to Police Inspector. The Police Inspector sent letter to a journalist in Ahmedabad. The Journalist showed letter to my steno. My steno showed letter to me. He asked me to file a PIL in High Court in his name.
Purpose of Telling you this story
From this story, you will be able to understand how PILs are filed, why Courts refuse to accept certain PILs, and how they go about in certain few PILs.
The Bench
The PIL was listed before the then Chief Justice P.R. Gokulkrishnan and Justice R.A.Mehta. The Court issued notice and kept matter next week for response of Government.
Next week, Advocate General appeared for Government and told the court that the man named by me in petition has resigned from his job and has already left for Chennai.
The top officials of Government were present. They told court that there are no bonded labourers on any ship.
Then there was nothing more left in PIL. The Court looked up at me and asked my response.
I said, "Apart from this man, two other bonded labourers have managed to escape from ship and I have kept them hidden in Court No. 2. And if Your Lordships want, I can produce them right now."
The Judges smiled. The case had started taking dramatic turn. The two labourers were produced.
Then I pointed out another difficulty to court,"These labourers do not know Gujarati, Hindi or English. They only know Madrasi Language."
Everyone in court including judges laughed. Because indirectly, I was suggesting that Chief Justice P.R. Gokulkrishnan should examine these men in Madrasi language in a court full of Gujarati people!
The judges discussed inter-se about propriety of doing this and then Chief Justice started speaking in Madrasi to labourer and then started dictating its English translation to court steno.
The whole courtroom was now overcrowded. Such a scene had never happened before.
The whole truth came out.
Next Day Morning
Next day morning when I opened the newspaper, headlines said that at that night, 9 ships were raided. 300 bonded labourers were freed and were sent to their homes.
My steno, in whose name petition was filed, is serving somewhere as a judge. So I have not mentioned his name.
I have also left Gujarat and shifted to practise in Supreme Court since about 25 years. The memories of the case have faded into past.
What you should bear in mind while filing a PIL
You may have a good case. The Court may issue notice also. But what will happen at next date?
The Biggest, richest and brightest lawyers will come from opposite side. They will have demolished all your facts and case. Will you be able to counter them at that stage? In fact, the pressures may have come upon you to withdraw PIL!
At this stage, the Court will find itself in "not a comfortable position".
That is why, before entertaining a PIL, the Courts look at credentials of petitioner and his lawyer.
Haresh Raichura
5th May,2012
