Supreme Court Judges and High Court Judges often receive letters from citizens requesting to take up certain issues as PIL or Public Interest Litigation.
They usually have set down some criterias on when to treat such letters as a PIL case.
1) First, in 1983, the then Chief Justice of India, P. N. Bhagvati laid down such criteria.
2) Then over years, the guidelines have changed and they keep changing with needs of time.
Generally, there are TWO broad principles.
1) The Judge who receives letter should not treat it as PIL Case. He should refer letter to PIL cell or to Chief Justice to take decision on it.
2) The letter should disclose Cause of People who are unable to approach court on their own through regular petitions.
For example, a person languishing as a Bonded Labour The children kept as bonded labour, a person kept in jail though his term has expired etc.
By nature of letter, it should look that the persons to whom justice is to be given, are not likely to be able to reach on their own to the court.
In 1983, a widow had approached me.
Her family pension was not being given. She had no money to pay me fee for filing case. I therefore, wrote a letter to a High Court judge, and asked her to sign it and drop it in a post box.
At that time, that was the maximum thing I could do free without charging fee.
Her letter was treated as PIL by High Court judge.
She got her family pension.
As I remember, later, she paid me Rs.300/- for drafting that letter for her.
Haresh Raichura
16/05/2016
