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‘Mother of PILs’, Senior most woman lawyer’s portrait in SC library
Pushpa Kapila Hingorani, is a well known Indian lawyer who is considered as “Mother of Public Interest Litigation” (PIL). It is presumed that she was the first women to graduate from Cardiff Law School, Wales. In 1961, she started practicing in the Supreme Court of India where, there were only three women lawyers practicing at that time.
The reason behind the “Mother of Public Interest Litigation” has to be rewound to 1979 where she had argued her first PIL in the Supreme Court, where she had brought into light about the issue which was pertaining to undertrial prisoners who had been tried, convicted and has been given maximum sentence exceeding the phase they would have been in prison. It has become a significant case which led to immediate release of 40,000 prisoners after careful examination of Article 21 of the Constitution of India. This case was later recognized as “Hussainara Khatoon v Home Secretary, Bihar”. After a period of Eight years, the National Legal Services Authority was formed with the motive to provide free legal services to weaker sections of the society. Subsequently, she had taken up 100 PIL cases along with her husband Mr. Nirmal Hingorani and has constantly battled in aid of millions of underprivileged people.
Initially, she had to face certain difficulties but subsequently, she was appreciated as well as recognized nationally and internationally for her remarkable contribution to law and society. It was for the first time in the history of 67 years that a well known and the first woman lawyer’s portrait has been affixed in the Supreme Court library which will enhance the walls of the library. Recently, this portrait was revealed by Chief Justice, Deepak Misra. She was also honored for completing 50 years at the bar by the Supreme Court Bar Association and it was also noted that she was the senior most woman lawyer who had enrolled with the Supreme Court.
