Justice Patel on PILs: Origin and Evolution

Justice G S Patel, a former judge, gave a talk about how Public Interest Litigations (PILs) started in India.

He said that after a difficult time called the Emergency, the courts wanted to regain people's trust.

They started allowing letters and postcards as petitions, making it easier for everyone to access justice.

This is called epistolary jurisdiction.

He also talked about how some judges, like Justice V R Krishna Iyer and Justice P N Bhagwati, helped make this possible.

PILs are special because they focus on big problems, not just personal issues.

Justice Patel also warned that sometimes PILs are misused for personal gain or to delay projects.

He discussed different views on whether courts should be so active in solving problems that the government and parliament should handle.