Bandhua Mukti Morcha case
Also called: Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union of India · Topic: Judiciary: Independence, Structure, Judicial Review and Activism · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 6 "Judiciary"
Meaning
Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union of India (1984) was an early public interest litigation (PIL) case about bonded labour. Bonded labour means people forced to work to pay off a debt. Justice P.N. Bhagwati held that when the poor come to court, the court should not treat the case as a fight between two sides (an adversarial approach). Instead it should take a non-adversarial approach and work actively to find the facts and help them. The case is a landmark of judicial activism.
Example
The petition was about bonded labourers working in stone quarries in Haryana. These workers could not have gone to court on their own, so a public-spirited organisation filed the case for them.
Don't confuse with
- Hussainara Khatoon case (1979): that PIL was about Bihar undertrials and the right to a speedy trial. Bandhua Mukti Morcha was about bonded labour.
Related concepts
- Judicial activism
- Public interest litigation
- Locus standi
- Hussainara Khatoon case
- Sunil Batra case
- Epistolary jurisdiction
- Suo motu cognizance
- Amicus curiae