Hussainara Khatoon case
Also called: Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar · Topic: Judiciary: Independence, Structure, Judicial Review and Activism · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 6 "Judiciary"
Meaning
Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar (1979) was one of the first public interest litigation (PIL) cases in India. An advocate filed a petition for undertrial prisoners in Bihar. Undertrials are people held in jail while still awaiting trial. Many had been in jail longer than the maximum sentence they could have got if found guilty. The Supreme Court held that the right to a speedy trial is part of Art. 21 (the right to life and personal liberty).
Example
After the ruling, thousands of undertrials in Bihar were freed. The case showed that a public-spirited person could go to court for people too poor to fight for themselves.
Don't confuse with
- Sunil Batra case (1980): that case began with a prisoner's own letter about torture in jail. Hussainara began with an advocate's petition about delay in trials.
Related concepts
- Judicial activism
- Public interest litigation
- Locus standi
- Sunil Batra case
- Bandhua Mukti Morcha case
- Epistolary jurisdiction
- Suo motu cognizance
- Amicus curiae