The Supreme Court's Activism
How India's Supreme Court expanded its role far beyond traditional judicial review, the invention of Public Interest Litigation, and the debate over whether judicial activism strengthens or undermines democracy.
The Public Interest Litigation Revolution
India's Supreme Court is arguably the most activist and powerful judiciary in any democracy. Beginning in the 1980s under Justices P.N. Bhagwati and V.R. Krishna Iyer, the Court developed Public Interest Litigation (PIL), which allows any citizen to petition the Court on behalf of disadvantaged groups who cannot access justice themselves. A PIL can be initiated by a simple letter to the Court.
Through PIL, the Supreme Court has intervened in environmental protection, prison conditions, child labor, food security, and dozens of other areas. The Court ordered the mid-day meal scheme that now feeds over 120 million schoolchildren. It mandated environmental impact assessments for major projects. It directed the government to implement the right to food for the poorest citizens. No other supreme court in the world has taken on such a broad governance role.