A PIL can be filed in the Supreme Court in the form of a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution. Also note that such petition can be filed only if any issue of enforcement / violation of the fundamental rights is involved.
In the petition that you file, you are required to provide details of:
(a) your full name, complete postal address, e-mail address, phone number, proof regarding personal identification, occupation and annual income, PAN number and National Unique Identity Card number, if any;
(b) the facts constituting the cause of action for filing the PIL;
(c) the nature of injury caused or likely to be caused to the public;
(d) the nature and extent of your personal interest, if any, of the petitioner(s);
(e) details regarding any civil, criminal or revenue litigation, involving the petitioner or any of the petitioners, which has or could have a legal nexus with the issue(s) involved in the Public Interest Litigation; and
(f) whether the concerned Government Authority was moved for relief(s) sought in the petition and if so, with what result.
You, as petitioner, are also required to file an affidavit stating that there is no personal gain, private motive or oblique reason in filing the Public Interest Litigation.
Formats for the petition are available aplenty on the Internet. There are copies of many PILs filed earlier by others, easily available on Internet. Just search with Google.
You can file the petition, duly prepared, in the Supreme Court registry. You’ll be required to submit 1+3 copies (one original + three copies) of the petition.
The court fee for filing PIL (i.e., writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution) is generally Rs. 500 per petitioner. Plus, the expenses on documentation (printing, photocopying, etc.) would have to be incurred, which are generally in the range of a few thousand rupees.
If you are filing the petition through an advocate on record, then of course you’ll also have to pay the professional fee of the advocate(s) that you engage. The advocate fee will differ from advocate to advocate. But, you can file the petition in person without engaging any advocate; however, in that case, you’ll have to handle all aspects of the PIL on your own, including appearing in the court and arguing your case.
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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