In Episode 2 of the DAKSH Podcast, we discussed public interest litigation in the higher judiciary in India. A PIL or public interest litigation is a petition that an individual, group or organisation files in a high court or the Supreme Court that has a larger public interest. PILs are central to how Indians view the higher judiciary in India. They are seen as a simple means for citizens to access these courts and claim their rights or the rights of communities they represent. However a deeper look at the consequences of easing procedural standards and the non-representation of affected parties in such cases raises some disconcerting questions. 

This week we chatted with Anuj Bhuwania who will help us peel the layers of the onion that public interest litigation has become. Anuj is a Professor at the O.P. Jindal Global University in Sonipat. He is the author of ‘Courting the People: Public Interest Litigation in Post-Emergency India’, the subject of today’s discussion. Anuj in his book has studied PILs related to the national capital of Delhi in some detail and revealed some disturbing trends often overlooked in the glorified coverage of PILs in the media

Reading list:

1. Anuj Bhuwania, Courting the People: Public Interest Litigation in Post-Emergency India 2017 Cambridge University Press.
2. Arun K Thiruvengadam, Swallowing a bitter PIL? Reflections on progressive strategies for Public Interest Litigation in India https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2465783
3. Lavanya Rajamani, Public interest environmental litigation in India: Exploring issues of access, participation, equity, effectiveness and sustainability Journal of environmental law 19.3 (2007), 293
4. Marc Galanter, , and Jayanth K. Krishnan. "Bread for the Poor: Access to Justice and the Rights of the Needy in India." Hastings LJ 55 (2003), 789.
5. Mathew Iduculla, Smothering the housing rights of the urban poor, The Hindu 12 September 2020 https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/smothering-the-housing-rights-of-the-urban-poor/article32584491.ece

CREDITS:

Host: Leah Verghese

This is a Maed in India production.

Production Head & Editor: Joshua Thomas

Sound Mixing: Kartik Kulkarni

Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome