There is no prohibition in law for a minor to file a case in the court. If a particular issue is related to the interests of minors, in appropriate cases, even a public interest litigation (PIL) can also be filed in the name of minors.
However, please remember that if the PIL is to be filed directly in the Supreme Court, then it can be done only under Article 32 of the Constitution to enforce the fundamental rights. If there is no violation of fundamental rights involved in a matter, the Supreme Court cannot be approached directly by PIL and instead of that the high court should be approached first. In this regard, please read: http://tilakmarg.com/forum/topic/can-a-case-be-filed-directly-in-the-supreme-court/
Please also note that if the PIL or any other petition is to be filed in the name of a minor in the Supreme Court, then it has to be done through his next friend (who may be parent, guardian, etc.). For example, Rule 1 of Order VII of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 requires as under:
“1. Every appeal, petition or other proceeding by a minor shall be instituted or continued in his name by his next friend.
Explanation.- In this Order, minor means a person who has not attained his majority within the meaning of section 3 of the Indian Majority Act, 1875 (9 of 1875) where the appeal, petition or other proceeding relates to any of the matters mentioned in clauses (a) and (b) of section 2 of that Act or to any other matter.”
As an example, I may point out that recently, in November 2016, the Supreme Court had ordered complete ban on sale of firecrackers in Delhi after three minors (TODDLERS) had filed PIL to stop pollution. This PIL was filed by Arjun Gopal, Aarav Bhandari and Zoya Rao Bhasin, who were all aged between 6 months to 14 months only. This decision of the Supreme Court has been reported as Arjun Gopal v. Union of India, (2017) 1 SCC 412. In this regard, please see the following news report: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-3972428/No-fireworks-Supreme-Court-orders-complete-ban-sale-firecrackers-Delhi-three-TODDLERS-file-PIL-stop-pollution.html
This is just one example to illustrate that a minor can file a PIL, subject to certain conditions, some of which are mentioned above.
Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.
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