NANDED CITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) LETTER-PETITION and the public interest litigation are gifts and innovations of the Indian Writ Courts as regards the law of Writs. The Concept of Social Welfare State naturally introduced spiral activities of the Governments. Legal rights are situations of assertions in a legal system which provide an eager maintenance of conditions under which an individual can develop the best in himself. The spiral rise necessitate many aspects of State action either in connection with an individual or in connection with a class. Naturally it became more than difficult to assure a sense of aliveness in this connection. Many aspects of activities emerged because the law is an instrument of Social Engineering which has to be alive for the felt necessities of time. These aspects increased the responsibility of the Writ Courts which no longer could afford to be strangers to the situation. The function of the Writ Court naturally got concerned with the conditions of Jail, with under-trial prisoners, introducing aliveness in Public Health Administration, certain concern with legal rights of destitutes, beggars, foot-path dwellers etc. In regard to which the Writ Court by its functioning in the context introduced the necessity of keeping the concerned authorities alive to the respective needs of the situation. It is in this way the courts entertain letter petitions as well as welcome the public interest litigations. At the same time, the Court was not unaware of the limitations, self-imposed and controlled inherently by the prerogative nature of its jurisdiction. The Court has been alive to realise that the ultimate problems of law and order, necessary administration relating to social welfare activities, necessary steps to be taken in regard to various needed situations are ultimately to be regarded as the State activity in the concerned direction. The function is to meet the situation of urgency demanding an early justice to be dealt with. The Court got concerned with its duty to introduce an element of life and liveliness in the concerned spheres of State activity. The Writ Court has always refrained from giving specific directions. Not that the Court has not done it as and when it was felt really necessary.

(2.) IN the process the grievances that come up before the Writ Court get circumscribed into certain categories. There are certain grievances which may not really come in the strict sense of the terms expressly fall within the powers of the Writ Court. This Court, therefore, adopted for itself certain guidelines.

(3.) A grievance in respect of the life or personal liberty of the person or class of persons represented became the subject matter of entertainment. A grievance made on behalf of a class, such as under-trial prisoners, Hospital staff, Hospital conditions, illustratively interested as a class in its redressal also became the subject matter in this category. It is in this connection, although, illustratively but not exhaustively the guidelines have circumscribed and described the general features of exercising jurisdiction.