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TMI Blog1985 (4) TMI 321X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in some detail our opinion in regard to the directions given in the impugned orders , because we find that this is one of those few cases which demonstrates what we have often said before that public interest litigation is a weapon which has to be used with great care and circumspection and the judiciary has to be extremely careful to see that under the guise of redressing a public grievance it does not encroach upon the sphere reserved by the Constitution to the Executive and the legislature. D It appears that the Chief Justice of the High Court received a letter dated 4th April , 1984 , from the guardian of a student of the Medical College in Shimla complaining about the ragging of freshers by senior students within as also outside the college campus and the hostel. The guardian of the student had annexed along with his letter to the Chief Justice a letter dated 25th March, 1984 received by him from his son. The Division Bench of the High Court presided over by the Chief Justice treated these two letters as constituting the Memo of Writ Petition but directed that these two letters should not be placed on the record of the proceedings in view of the request made in paragraph 6 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hese measures. This Committee which we shall for the sake of convenience refer to as the Anti-Ragging Committee , was to complete its work and submit its report within a period of six months from the date of its constitution. The Anti-Ragging Committee submitted its Report to the High Court on 26th June , 1984. The Report contained various recommendations intended to control and curb the ragging of freshers by senior students in the Medical College and its hostel. We are concerned here with only one recommendation namely that contained in paragraph 16 of the Report which was in the following terms: In quite a number of States in the country there are Acts on ragging which make ragging a cognizable offence and prescribe the types of punishment commensurate with the crimes committed. The Himachal Pradesh Government could be suggested to initiate such a legislation as early as possible. Pending such a legislation by the State Government, the University authorities could think of incorporating some provisions relating to ragging in the relevant ordinance of Discipline in the Ordinance of the University. The Division Bench by its order dated 24th July, 1984 gave directions for i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y implied that what the Division Bench wanted the State Government to do was to initiate legislation against ragging and for this purpose, time of 6 weeks was granted to the State Government The State Government thereupon preferred the present appeal with special leave obtained from this Court. We may point out, even at the cost of repetition, that the direction given by the Division Bench in its order dated 24th July 1984 and reiterated in its order dated 18th September 1984 was not an innocuous direction issued merely for the purpose, of informing the Court as to what the State Governing proposed to do in regard to the recommendation in paragraph 16 of the Report to initiate legislation against ragging. The Division Bench would have been certainly justified in enquiring from the Chief Secretary as to what action the State Government proposed to take in regard to the recommendation of the- Anti-Ragging Committee to initiate legislation on the subject of ragging. Such enquiry could have been legitimately made by the Division Bench for the purpose of obtaining information on a matter which the Division Bench regarded, and in our opinion rightly, as necessary for eradicating the e ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tive or any member of the legislature to initiate legislation, howsoever necessary or desirable the Court may consider it to be. That is not a matter which is within the sphere of the functions and duties allocated to the judiciary under the Constitution. If the executive is not carrying out any duty laid upon it by the Constitution or the law, the Court can certainly require the executive to carry out such duty and this is precisely what the Court does when it entertains public interest litigation. Where the Court finds, on being moved by an aggrieved party or by any public spirited individual or social action group, that the executive is remiss in discharging its obligations under the Constitution or the law, so that the poor and the under privileged continue to be subjected to exploitation and injustice or are deprived of their social and economic entitlements or that social legislation enacted for their benefit is not being implemented thus depriving them of the rights and benefits conferred upon them, the Court certainly can and must intervene and compel the Executive to carry out its constitutional and legal obligations and ensure that the deprived and vulnerable sections of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sons who by reason of poverty, disability or sociallity or economically disadvantaged position find it difficult to approach the court for redress that the Supreme Court or the High Court would be justified, nay bound, to treat the letter as a Writ Petition. There may also be cases where even letter addressed for redressal of a wrong done to an individual may be treated as a Writ Petition where the Supreme Court or the High Court considers it expedient to do so in the interests of justice. This is an innovative strategy which has been evolved by the Supreme Court for the purpose of providing easy access to justice to the weaker sections of Indian humanity and it is a powerful tool in the hands of public spirited individuals and social action groups for combating exploitation and injustice and securing for the under-privileged segments of society their social and economic entitlements. It is a highly effective weapon in the Armour of the law for reaching social justice.: to the common man. The Division Bench was, therefore, certainly right in entertaining the two letters as a Writ Petition and no exception can be taken to it, but it was wholly in error in directing that these two le ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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