This article has been written by kumari sheetal , a 4th year BALLB student from SRMS college of law , bareilly mjp rohelkhand university .
Locus standi is a latin maxim consists of two words
- Locus – meaning place
- Standi – meaning the right to bring an legal action
Hence locus standi means the right to appear or the right to bring an legal action before the court which means a person can approach the court only when his personal interest is suffered or suffered any injury and damage
Locus standi is the right to bring an action before the court and the right to appear and to be heard in the court . this principle states that only the person who has suffered any damage , whose legal rights are damaged or he had suffered loss could file case . for example A sells his computer to B at the rate rupees 25000 and also gives the possession of his computer to B but B does not paid rs 25000 to A then the loss and damages is suffered by A and he has an right to bring an action before court against B before court to recover the loss .
Essential ingredients
Following are the essential ingredients of locus standi –
- Person must have suffered some injury and there should be violation of legal rights
- That injury is caused by the act of the other party against whom he is appearing and had filed case
- There should be remedy available
In the case of Sh. Ved Prakash v. S.H.O, the plaintiff filed an injunction and he claimed to be the owner of the 1/6th share of the family. After conducting the due inquiry, the court stated that the plaintiff has no locus standi in the present case as no cause of action arises.
Order VII rule 11 of civil procedure code 1908
The concept of locus standi is mentioned in order VII rule 11
Public interest litigation is an exception to this rule of locus standi
Can locus standi be a ground of rejection of plaint within the purview of Order 7, Rule 11 of the Civil procedure Code, 1908?
yes the reason is very simple a person can be said to have cause of action only when he has some right which is been violated you have no locus standi means you have no right which is been violated thus you will have no cause of action for suit and you can not show any cause of action in your pleading hence your plaint is said to be not disclosing any cause of action thus liable to be rejected under order 7 rule 11(a) of c.p.c.
Case laws
JASBHAI MOTIBHAI DESAI V. ROSHAN KUMAR , HAJI BASHIR AHMED AND ORS. 1976 AIR 578
In this case the Bombay high court rejected the writ petition and held that no right of the appellant infringed or violated as a direct result of the order impugned by him and thus he does not have locus standi in court of law
FATEH SINGH V. STATE OF RAJASTHAN AIR 1995 RAJASTHAN 15
In this case it was held by the high court that every person has a fundamental right to be heard
M. GLOBAL FACILITIES V. STATE OF PUNJAB
It was held in this matte that it is expected in principle of natural justice to provide opportunity of hearing and speaking on reason
the State says that the relaxation of the strict rule of locus standi is exemplified by the judgment reported at (2000) 7 SCC 552 (Ms Jayaraj v. Commissioner of Excise)
BANDHU MUKTI MORCHA V. UNION OF INDIA
In this case it was held that the public interest litigation are challenge and opportunity for the government and the officers of the government to make the basic human rights meaningful for the section of society which is deprived and the court have the power under article 32 to appoint a commission for the inquiry concerning the violation of human rights .
SARITA KUMARI V. BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION AJMER AIR 2011 RAJASTHAN 167
In this case it was held by the high court that according to the principle of natural justice every person should be provided the opportunity of hearing but in the case cheating in educational matters this principle is not applicable hence it’s a exception to this rule
It has also been observed that sometimes the rule of locus standi is relaxed when the constitutionality of legislation comes into question. In India, the legality of any statute can be challenged in a court of law without showing the direct harm inflicted by the statute.
Importance of locus standi
The importance of locus standi is based upon the maxim ubi jus ibi remedium which means where there is a right there is remedy . every person have some legal rights and for the enforcement of such right its fundamental right to move to the court and cannot be restricted
The traditional rules says that a person whose constitutional or legal right is infringed can apply for relief under article 226 of the constitution of India but the supreme court now liberalized this rule of locus standi and now it permits the public – spirited persons to file a writ petition for the enforcement of constitutional and statutory rights of any other person or class , form if that person or class is unable to invoke the jurisdiction of the high court due to poverty or any social economic disability .
In law and constitution every person has some legal rights and for the enforcement of such legal rights have right to move to the court . if not so than these rights become meaningless
Thus every person has right to go to court for the execution prevention and protection of their rights it is fundamental right and he cannot be restricted to use this right . such right is known as locus standi .
Exceptional writs in locus standi
The following writs are the exception to locus standi
- Habeas corpus – this writ is issued when a person has been detained illegally. So if a person thinks that he have no committed any wrong and the police have detained him for no reason then he can approach the court for issuance of this writ which actually means to bring the body . the term habeas corpus is a latin word means TO HAVE THE BODY OF so the court orders the authorities to produce the body of the person who has been detained before the court
.
- Quo warranto – when any private individual assumes an office to which he has no right then the writ of quo – warranto . quo –warranto basically means – BY WHAT AUTHORITY so when an private individual assumes such office in which he has no power no right then the court can ask him and question him about that . for example if an person imposing the duty of inspector on him and functions accordingly the court can stop him from doing so and ask him under what authority he is doing so .
Cases where the locus standi is explained
- MC MEHTA V. UNION OF INDIA AIR1988 SC 1115 – protecting water of the ganga from pollution
- MC MEHTA V. UNION OF INDIA AIR 1997 SC 734
- JAMMU CONSUMER V. STATE AIR 2003 N.O.C.256 JAMMU AND KASHMIR – right to pollution free water
Conclusion
Hence it can be concluded with the above discussions that locus standi is the legal capacity to sue or approach the courts when that person is aggrieved and has suffered any loss or damage and have a remedy for the same
References
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