Kohima, February 3 (MTNews): The One-Day Symposium on “Public Interest Litigation (PIL)” and “Litigation and Advocacy” was organized by Pro Bono Club, Kohima Law College with Associate Professor Kezhokhoto Savi and Associate Professor Tompok Ponger as resource persons today at its auditorium.
Asst. Professor David Shiu, faculty in-charge of Pro Bono Club chaired the program with a prayer and introduced the resource persons which was attended by more than hundred law students besides Pro Bono Associates.
Associate Professor Tompok Ponger spoke on “Litigation and Advocacy” by explaining what it means and the system of legal practices. He deliberated in detail about the court proceedings in district court as a trial court stating how to file by considering various jurisdictions such as cause of action arises, place, pecuniary, subject matter, various stages of evidence/public witnesses such as framing of issues, cross-examination, exhibition of document such as primary evidence, secondary evidence, etc.
He also emphasized the importance of legal professional ethics where the legal profession is considered to be a noble profession and to prove it, a law practitioner must possess and cultivate honesty, hard work and integrity. He also said judicial ethics and integrity are the bedrock on which credibility of the institution of judiciary is founded.
As a resource person, Associate Professor Kezhokhoto Savi spoke on the topic “Public Interest Litigation.” At the outset, he said that Pro Bono is a Latin word which means “For the Public Good.”
“Justice is not accessible to the underprivileged due to the many reasons and money is the major problem and what I personally meant here is justice is accessible to those who can afford it but not to those who are in need. So basically, Pro Bono is the way through which lawyers, NGOs, and other legal institutions like Kohima Law College Pro Bono Club try to give legal aid to the underprivileged ones at zero-cost so that justice should reach all classes and the nature of work is same as Public Interest Litigation (PIL),” he said.
Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is a ‘strategic arm’ of the legal aid movement and is intended to bring justice within the reach of the poor masses. PIL is not a new phenomenon. In, U.S.A it has been invoked largely for the purpose of improving the life conditions of the Blacks and ensuring human rights to them, he continued.
He further explained that PIL was initiated for the benefit of a class of people, who had been denied their constitutional and legal rights because they were unable to have access to the Courts on account of their Socio-economic disabilities. PIL, in simple words, means litigation filed in a court of law, for the protection of “Public Interest” such as pollution, terrorism, road safety, constructional hazards, etc.
PIL can be filed which involves public importance for eg; (i) violation of basic human rights of the poor, (ii) content or conduct of government policy, (iii) compel municipal authorities to perform a public duties, (iv) violation of religious rights or other basic fundamental rights, etc. Several PIL success stories pertaining to pollution, prohibition of smoking in public places, right to get pollution free water and air, hospital management, etc.
“The main reason for the growth of PIL in the U.S.A was the failure of administration agencies to protect public interest; however, in India, the concept of PIL was emerged to represent genuine cases of downtrodden masses of our society before the court. It is one of the legal strategies of legal services to the poor,” he stated.
Article 39A of the Indian Constitution ensures equal justice and provides that no person should be deprived of justice only on the ground of poverty. The parliament has enacted the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 and the States have framed rules and regulations and also created infrastructure.
He concluded with a special message stating, “I’d like to encourage the voluntary organizations, NGOs and social spirited people to come forward and boost the movement of PIL for the cause of weaker sections of our society.”