Page "Class action" Paragraph 55

Decisions of the Indian Supreme Court in the 1980s loosened strict locus standi requirements to permit the filing of suits on behalf of rights deprived sections of society by public minded individuals or bodies.

Although not strictly " class action litigation " as it is understood in American law, Public Interest Litigation arose out of the wide powers of judicial review granted to the Supreme Court of India and the various High Courts under Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution of India respectively.

The sort of remedies sought from courts in Public Interest Litigation go beyond mere award of damages to all affected groups and have sometimes ( controversially ) gone on to include Court monitoring of the implementation of legislation and even the framing of guidelines in the absence of Parliamentary legislation.