The Supreme Court of India today is arguably one of the most powerful constitutional courts in the world. The Court has taken on an active and central role in the governance of the Indian polity through its activity in public interest litigation cases, and in some cases, has virtually taken over functions that were once the domain of Parliament and the Executive. Within the past two decades, the Indian Court wrested control over judicial appointments from the Executive, and assumed a leading role in policymaking in the areas of affirmative action, environmental policy, education, and development. The Court has generally exerted a great deal of authority in securing compliance with decisions in which it has asserted expanded power. However, during the first two decades after India's independence, the Court played a relatively limited role in governance. How can one explain the expansion of the Court's role in Indian politics today?

This chapter examines a critical “moment” in the expansion of judicial power in India: the development of the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) regime in the post–Emergency Indian Court. Following the end of Indira Gandhi's Emergency regime (1975–1977) and the election of the Janata party government in 1977, the Supreme Court of India expanded popular access to the Court and broadened its own power and jurisdiction through PIL cases involving repression of human rights and malgovernance. Through PIL, the Indian Court asserted itself as a “champion” of the rule of law and responsible governance in the 1980s, although the Court avoided direct challenges to the policies and actions of the Executive and Parliament in this period. As India transitioned from an era of one-party rule under the Congress party to an era of multiparty politics and coalition governments in the early 1990s, the Court became more assertive in challenging the central government, particularly in key governance domains including judicial appointments, corruption and accountability, and environmental policy.