Ahmedabad

Gujarat High Court has made it mandatory to file 10 declarations by petitioners who file Public Interest Litigation(PIL). The Court postponed hearing of six PILs on Monday and asked petitioners to first file the prescribed declarations. A petition seeking Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti Convener Hardik Patel to pay for losses during Patidar violence was on board, but due to lack of declaration, hearing on this petition too was postponed. The court had implemented some rules regarding PILs in year 2010. According to that petitioner had to declare his/her personal interest if applicable while filing PIL. As per another rule when some NGO files plea, it has to be registered organization.

Details of 10 declarations, an applicant needs to file while moving PIL are following:

– Social background, profession and background of applicant.

– Details of personal interest of petitioner associated with plea, if applicable.

– Details of contempt of court proceeding against applicant in past and its result.

– Sources of facts mentioned in petition. If facts are taken from news report, declaration should mention whether the applicant has checked its authenticity.

– Detail of any injury or loss.

– If some organization has filed PIL, then it should be filed by authorized person belonging to that organization. If such organization had filed any PIL in past, then its case number, case status, case details in brief and the details of case’s result if applicable.

– Petitioner will need to file declaration that PIL filed is completely in public interest and it is not filed as per instruction by some other person or organization.

– Declaration on source of money spent for legal procedures and lawyer’s fees.

– Declaration on how particular petition is actually in public interest.

– Declaration that PIL is absolutely in public interest and there’s no individual, personal interest directly or indirectly associated.

Editor’s note:

This is very appreciable decision by Gujarat High Court regarding PIL that have been in the past described as Publicity Interest Litigations. There’s huge foreign funding coming in to dubious NGOs to do legal activism. Such NGOs sometime come to front to file PIL, but in most of the cases they hire lay man to file PIL. Almost every major development project of government, every major move of business houses is challenged in court through PIL. Who spare time, money and efforts for such PIL, are there vested interests involved behind the curtain, are some of the questions that have been unanswered largely. It is highly appreciable that finally there will be detailed background check of applicants, organizations and reasons involved frontally or behind the curtain.