Waiting for justice

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">300 odd PILs pending in Mumbai High Court</span><br /><br />It is the perfect example of how public interest is kept on the back burner by the judiciary. Statistics show that no less than 300 Public Interest Litigations (PILs) are currently pending in the Mumbai High Court waiting to be heard and dispersed.The majority of the petitioners in these cases are NGOs and citizens bodies fighting for different causes like educational reforms, environmental violations etc. With HC listening to PILs just once a week, there are no immediate signs of getting final orders in coming months.<br /><br />So what can be done? Says Anand Joshi, founder, Forum for Fairness in Administration, "Courts have taken over the mantle of good governance. This is the only weapon for the citizen to fight out since he is ignored by politicians as well as government departments." The ignorance of PILs demonstrates how public issues are last on priority list, states Ahmad Abdi, advocate, Mumbai HC. "I filed a PIL against the illegal lotteries in the city, pointing out how one centre was running merely 100 metres from the HC premises. While the court stated that it indeed realised the gravity of the situation, in reality no orders are passed till date. In fact, the matter is not coming on the board at all."<br /><br />Social activist Shailesh Gandhi feels that the delay clearly show that the courts are never on the side of ordinary citizens. "Despite the Supreme Court order that adjournments must be an exception, they continue to happen. We have accepted the culture of delay without protest."</div> </div>