Public-interest litigation (India)

In Indian law, public-interest litigation (PIL, or जनहित याचिका) is litigation for the protection of the public interest. PIL may be introduced in a court of law by the court itself (suo motu), rather than the aggrieved party or another third party. For the exercise of the court's jurisdiction, it is unnecessary for the victim of the violation of his or her rights to personally approach the court. In PIL, the right to file suit is given to a member of the public by the courts through judicial activism. The member of the public may be a non-governmental organization (NGO), an institution or an individual. The Supreme Court of India, rejecting the criticism of judicial activism, has stated that the judiciary has stepped in to give direction due to executive inaction; laws enacted by Parliament and the state legislatures for the poor since independence have not been properly implemented.