WHO CAN FILE PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION ?

Any Indian citizen/ individual or a group of people/a foreigner, facing an issue can file the Public Interest Litigation.

It can be filed :

1. Under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution in the Supreme Court 
2. Under Article 226 of the Indian Constitution in the High Court 
3. Under Section 133 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in the Court of Judicial Magistrate. 

• The person filing the petition must prove to the satisfaction of the court that the petition is being filed for a public interest, and not for their personal gain. The Court accepts the litigation only when the plea comes from a large public interest.

• The Court can initiate the case, in case they find it justified in public interest. Many times , the Court even , after reading newspapers, or after reading about a particular case, can suo moto initiate action for securing a matter involving general/public interest.