PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION, 1979 - SUPREME RIGHT TO BE HEARD

The PIL has come as a boon to the disadvantaged, with the Supreme Court opening its doors for them. And while it has evolved as a powerful tool for social reform and government accountability, it has also become prone to misuse, which too the court has duly taken heed of

- BY KAUSHIK DEKA

Inside the crumbling walls of Bihar's overcrowded jails in the 1970s, tens of thousands of forgotten souls waited—not for justice, but for time to swallow them whole. They were under-trials, prisoners held for years, even decades, without getting their day in court, stripped of dignity and hope. Kapila Hingorani, a feisty young lawyer, armed only with a petition and an unyielding sense that justice must prevail, brought their plight to the Supreme Court. Justice P.N. Bhagwati listened. In a groundbreaking 1979 judgment, the court ruled that the right to a speedy trial was fundamental. Over 40,000 prisoners walked free across India, and their liberation etched the concept of the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) into India's judicial ethos, redefining the concept of access to justice. Designed to open the doors of the court to the marginalised and the disadvantaged communities, the PIL has evolved into a powerful tool for social reform, promoting justice and accountability.

The roots of the PIL lie in the landmark