The Public Interest Litigation (‘PIL’) paradigm indicates a unique jurisdiction in which the Indian Courts relax rules of standing to admit any petition of ‘public interest’. The adoption of this jurisdiction transformed the Indian litigation paradigm from being dominated by ‘men with long purses’ to the last resort for the ‘oppressed and the marginalised’. The PIL litigation in India has been extremely successful in reforming investigative agencies, ensuring police reforms, protecting the environment, providing food security, enabling labor welfare and preventing illegal demolitions. However, PILs have been claimed to overstep the demarcation of boundaries between the three pillars of the government. Recent cases in 2026 indicate the adoption of a newer balanced approach between judicial activism and restraint.