Public interest litigation in Nepal: In whose interest?

In the case of Janata Dal v HS Chowdhary, 1992 , the Supreme Court of India defined public interest litigation (PIL) as “a legal action initiated in a court of law for the enforcement of public interest or general interest, in which the public or a class of the community have pecuniary interest or some interest by which their legal rights or liabilities are affected.” Under the PIL, any public-spirited citizen or a social organisation can move the court for the enforcement of the rights of any person or group of persons because of their poverty or ignorance or socially or economically disadvantaged position. Therefore, PILs are considered a potent tool in a democracy to litigate and draw attention to matters of public interest.

The PIL is absolutely necessary for maintaining the rule of law, furthering the cause of justice and accelerating the pace of realisation of the constitutional objectives. In other words, the real purposes of PIL are a vindication of the rule of law, facilitating effective access to justice to the socially and economically weaker sections of the society, and meaningful realisation of the fundamental rights.