History of Public Interest Litigation in India

The term public law litigation‘ was first prominently used by American academic, Abram Chayes[1980], to describe the practice of lawyers or public-spirited individuals who seek to precipitate social change through court-ordered decrees that reform legal rules, enforce existing laws and articulate public norms.

1. Mumbai Kamgar Sabha v/s Abdulbhai [The Seed] (1976) 3 SCC 832: AIR 1976 SC 1455
2. Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar AIR 1979 SC 1360 [ First PIL case reported]
3. In Fertilizer Corporation Kamgar Union v/s Union of India[(1981) 2 SCR 52: AIR 1981 SC 344]  the term “public interest litigation” was first used.
4. S.P. Gupta v/s Union of India[AIR 1982 SC 149] [The PIL term expanded]
5. Akhil Bharatiya Soshit Karamchari Sangh (Railway) [AIR 1981 SC 317]
6. Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union of India and Others [AIR 1984 SC 802]