K. PIL, Locus Standi & Institutional Accountability
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| Case | Year | Holding |
|---|---|---|
| S.P. Gupta v. Union of India | 1981 | (see Section F) — relaxed the traditional rule of locus standi, allowing any public-spirited person to move the Court on behalf of those unable to approach it themselves; foundational to the entire PIL movement. |
| People's Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India | 1982 | Held that paying workers below the statutory minimum wage amounts to "forced labour" prohibited under Art. 23, even without direct physical compulsion — a wide reading of what counts as "force," in a PIL about workers building Delhi's Asiad facilities. |
| Vineet Narain v. Union of India | 1997 | Arising from the Jain hawala case, directed measures to insulate the CBI and Enforcement Directorate from political interference and ensure investigative independence; another example of the Court using "continuing mandamus" to supervise institutional reform over time. |
| Union of India v. Association for Democratic Reforms | 2002 | Held voters have a fundamental right under Art. 19(1)(a) to know the criminal antecedents, assets, and educational qualifications of election candidates — directed the Election Commission to mandate such disclosure. |
| PUCL v. Union of India (NOTA case) | 2013 | Directed the Election Commission to introduce a "None of the Above" (NOTA) option on ballots/EVMs, holding the right to a "negative vote" flows from the voter's freedom of expression. |
Notes. This section groups cases whose central contribution is procedural/institutional rather than a substantive right — they expanded who can approach the Court, what counts as a violation worth a writ, or how the Court supervises compliance with its own orders over years (the "continuing mandamus" technique also seen repeatedly in the Environment section).
Mnemonic. "Gupta Pushed the door, Vineet's hawala led to ADR's NOTA" — S.P. Gupta (1981) → PUDR/forced-labour case (1982) → Vineet Narain (1997) → ADR/candidate-disclosure case (2002) → PUCL/NOTA case (2013). Image: a door labelled "locus standi" being pushed open by Gupta, with everyone from bonded labourers to voters walking through it afterward.