“Delhi HC declines to entertain PIL for probe into violence during farmers’ tractor rally”

“Impossible to pass orders on a petition like this”

“The attractive brand name of Public Interest Litigation can’t be used for suspicious products of mischief”

“SC imposes cost of Rs. 5 lakhs on PIL seeking ban on Coca Cola, Thums Up, etc.”

“Where has PILs come to!!”

“PIL dismissed, Rs 50,000 fine imposed on petitioner by Telangana HC”

“Gujarat High Court dismissed pleas challenging panchayat election notification”

“Supreme Court dismisses PIL seeking free and fair assembly elections in Bengal”

Talk to any layman about their reason for reverence of Judiciary and inevitably the answer will skirt around the role played by Public Interest Litigations in getting justice for common people.

PILs have resulted in amazing decisions and precedents. Here are some remarkable examples:

• Section 66A of the Information Technology Act that allowed arrest for posting objectionable content online was struck down as unconstitutional in a PIL filed by a law student Shreya Singhal.
• Section 377 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 was read down to decriminalise same-sex sexual activities.
• Transgenders were recognised as third genders in a PIL filed by NALSA.
• Guidelines on sexual harassment, which were later converted into laws were laid down in a PIL filed in Supreme Court.
• 40,000 undertrial prisoners were released by Supreme Court in a PIL filed for prisoners’ rights.

However, seldom do people realise that only a small percentage of Public Interest Litigations are admitted, let alone getting reliefs they are seeking for.

A brief glance at some of the headlines above will show how a badly drafted PIL, even after seeking a seemingly reasonable relief can get rejected just on account of bad drafting and/or not being able to set out reliefs clearly.

Public Interest Litigations are most commonly heard by division benches of the High Courts and Supreme Courts. These generally comprise of the senior-most judges of that particular court according to the roster.

These judges usually hear matters related to an important constitutional crisis, serious criminal offences and other time-sensitive matters. They are flooded with several pressing issues and have very limited time to hear the matters in detail.

Needless to say, most of these fail to clear even the doorstep of the proceedings, getting rejected at the admission stage itself.

Drafting well has become more important than ever when it comes to PILs. Judges have increasingly started relying on their reading of the petitions to decide whether they will hear the case, often refusing to spare much time for oral arguments if they do not find merit or it fails to clearly set out the reliefs and grounds convincingly. Can you blame them given how clogged the courts are and how humongous the pendency rates are?

Being able to file and pursue the right PILs that make a difference to the lives of the vulnerable and makes a difference to the society can make a big difference to your career as well. It results in you getting face time before the court, getting an opportunity to sharpen your legal skills and building a reputation as a lawyer, even getting media attention at times - all these things can do wonders for your legal career.

However, badly drafted, unnecessary and wasteful PILs can backfire big time as well.

How can you do this right? What are the mistakes to avoid?

You see any palpable injustice where authorities refuse to take any action or redress genuine grievances of citizens.

What do you do? How can you file a PIL that will actually make a difference?

The reason why Public Interest Litigation has caught the imagination of the general public increasingly is that there was no set format for filing PIL and almost anyone and everyone could approach the court and seek redressal. It made courts more approachable.

In fact, most of the PILs in the early 80s were the outcome of letters written by social activists, prisoners and others who had no alternative remedies they could access.

Over the years, the Courts have laid down several guidelines, filing requirements and have substantially narrowed down the scope of matters that can be covered through Public Interest Litigation. You need to learn these to file effective PILs.

Being able to file and draft PILs effectively is a skill that can help any lawyer in making a substantial difference to the society and truly giving effect to the old saying that “lawyers are the most effective means of social change”.

However, to be able to do this, you need to know how to draft an effective PIL. This includes key skills that you need to be aware of including how to set out facts, procedural requirements, filing requirements, details to be given, grounds to be written.

Who should attend this workshop?

• Lawyers, law students and/or anybody looking to make a substantial change to the society.
• Social activists dealing with on-ground issues wherever intervention of judiciary can change things.
• Lawyers looking to develop their practise in Supreme Court and High Courts.
• Law students

What you will learn:

• What are the key procedural requirements for filing a Public Interest Litigation?
• Who all can file the PIL and where can it be filed?
• What are the key filing requirements for a Public Interest Litigation?
• What are the common objections by registries while scrutinising Public Interest Litigations?
• What are the common mistakes committed by lawyers while drafting Public Interest Litigations?
• What are the different components of a Public Interest Litigation and what should be your focus while drafting each of them?
• How to set out grounds clearly and effectively in your Public Interest Litigation?
• How to maintain the balance between brevity and details in your Public Interest Litigation?
• How to draft reliefs clearly and concisely in your Public Interest Litigation?