As per the information furnished by the Registry of the Supreme Court, the guidelines for entertaining Public Interest Litigations (PIL) have been laid down by the Supreme Court in judicial pronouncements. Administratively, the Registry has generally defined matters of public interest to include (i) bonded labour matters, (ii) matters of neglected children, (iii) exploitation of casual labourers and non-payment of wages to them (except in individual cases), (iv) matters of harassment or torture of persons belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and economically Backward Classes, either by co-villagers or by police, (v) matters relating to environmental pollution, disturbance of ecological balance, drugs, food adulteration, maintenance of heritage and culture, antiques, forests and wild life, (vi) petitions from riot victims and (vii) other matters of public importance.
Entertaining of any litigation, including a PIL, being a matter entirely within the domain of the judiciary, it is not incumbent on the Supreme Court to consult the Government while framing any such guidelines.
This information was given by Dr. M.Veerappa Moily, Minister of Law and Justice, in the Lok Sabha today in a written reply.
